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Exposure to polystyrene microplastics impairs hippocampus-dependent learning and memory in mice
Summary
Researchers found that mice exposed to polystyrene microplastics for eight weeks showed impaired learning and memory, with plastic particles detected in their hippocampus, the brain region critical for memory formation. The microplastics caused neuroinflammation, disrupted synaptic signaling, and altered gene expression in the brain. Interestingly, cutting the vagus nerve partially prevented these effects, suggesting that gut-brain communication plays a role in how ingested microplastics affect cognitive function.
Microplastics (MPs) pollution has become a serious environmental issue worldwide, but its potential effects on health remain unknown. The administration of polystyrene MPs (PS-MPs) to mice for eight weeks impaired learning and memory behavior. PS-MPs were detected in the brain especially in the hippocampus of these mice. Concurrently, the hippocampus had decreased levels of immediate-early genes, aberrantly enhanced synaptic glutamate AMPA receptors, and elevated neuroinflammation, all of which are critical for synaptic plasticity and memory. Interestingly, ablation of the vagus nerve, a modulator of the gut-brain axis, improved the memory function of PS-MPs mice. These results indicate that exposure to PS-MPs in mice alters the expression of neuronal activity-dependent genes and synaptic proteins, and increases neuroinflammation in the hippocampus, subsequently causing behavioral changes through the vagus nerve-dependent pathway. Our findings shed light on the adverse impacts of PS-MPs on the brain and hippocampal learning and memory.