Outdoor Air Pollution Exposure Alters Fear Regulation and Fear-Related Neural Circuitry in Adolescence.
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
- 2Translational Neuroscience Program, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
- 3Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.
- 4Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
- 5Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.
- 6Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
- 7Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
Abstract
Air pollution is an emerging risk factor for anxiety in youth, but the neurobehavioral mechanisms remain unclear. Anxiety disorders are associated with altered fear-related learning, processes refined across adolescence. We examined whether adolescents with high versus low past-month exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) differ in fear-related learning. Adolescents (N = 102; 55% female; ages 10-17 years) completed a Pavlovian fear conditioning, extinction, and recall paradigm. PM2.5 exposure was estimated using a spatiotemporal model and categorized as low versus high via the Environmental Protection Agency's annual standard (9 μg/m3). Fear responses were assessed using skin conductance responses (SCRs), behavioral avoidance, and self-reported fear. Linear mixed-effects models tested associations between PM2.5 group, task phase, and conditioned stimulus type, adjusting for age, sex, and neighborhood disadvantage. In a subset (n = 68), neuroimaging analyses examined activation within fear-related regions of interest. Compared with the low group, the high group exhibited greater SCRs and subjective fear in response to conditioned threat cues during conditioning. The high-exposure group demonstrated a greater return of fear during recall, reflected in elevated SCRs in response to the extinguished cue and sustained subjective fear. Across phases, the high-exposure group exhibited higher SCRs overall. Neuroimaging analyses showed greater right amygdala activation during conditioning and extinction and greater left insula activation during recall in youths with high versus low exposure. Compared with low PM2.5 exposure, high PM2.5 exposure was associated with altered fear processing across subjective, physiological, and neural levels, suggesting fear dysregulation as a potential mechanistic link between air pollution and anxiety.
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BibTeX
@article{zundel2026outdoor,
title = {{Outdoor Air Pollution Exposure Alters Fear Regulation and Fear-Related Neural Circuitry in Adolescence.}},
author = {Clara G Zundel and Alexander Jakubiec and Samantha Ely and Carmen Carpenter and Reem Tamimi and Cole Brokamp and Patrick Ryan and Jeffrey R Strawn and Tanja Jovanovic and Hilary A Marusak},
journal = {Biological psychiatry global open science},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100831},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42997796},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Outdoor Air Pollution Exposure Alters Fear Regulation and Fear-Related Neural Circuitry in Adolescence.
AU - Clara G Zundel
AU - Alexander Jakubiec
AU - Samantha Ely
AU - Carmen Carpenter
AU - Reem Tamimi
AU - Cole Brokamp
AU - Patrick Ryan
AU - Jeffrey R Strawn
AU - Tanja Jovanovic
AU - Hilary A Marusak
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
JO - Biological psychiatry global open science
DO - 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100831
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42997796
AB - Air pollution is an emerging risk factor for anxiety in youth, but the neurobehavioral mechanisms remain unclear. Anxiety disorders are associated with altered fear-related learning, processes refined across adolescence. We examined whether adolescents with high versus low past-month exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) differ in fear-related learning. Adolescents (N = 102; 55% female; ages 10-17 years) completed a Pavlovian fear conditioning, extinction, and recall paradigm. PM2.5 exposure was estimated using a spatiotemporal model and categorized as low versus high via the Environmental Protection Agency's annual standard (9 μg/m3). Fear responses were assessed using skin conductance responses (SCRs), behavioral avoidance, and self-reported fear. Linear mixed-effects models tested associations between PM2.5 group, task phase, and conditioned stimulus type, adjusting for age, sex, and neighborhood disadvantage. In a subset (n = 68), neuroimaging analyses examined activation within fear-related regions of interest. Compared with the low group, the high group exhibited greater SCRs and subjective fear in response to conditioned threat cues during conditioning. The high-exposure group demonstrated a greater return of fear during recall, reflected in elevated SCRs in response to the extinguished cue and sustained subjective fear. Across phases, the high-exposure group exhibited higher SCRs overall. Neuroimaging analyses showed greater right amygdala activation during conditioning and extinction and greater left insula activation during recall in youths with high versus low exposure. Compared with low PM2.5 exposure, high PM2.5 exposure was associated with altered fear processing across subjective, physiological, and neural levels, suggesting fear dysregulation as a potential mechanistic link between air pollution and anxiety.
SN - 2667-1743
ER -