This application proposes to test the hypothesis that young children (10 years of age) with gestational exposure to the environmental toxicants found in Lake Ontario fish (e.g., PCBs, mercury, cadmium) will exhibit exaggerated responses to acute stress. Preliminary evidence suggests that a) newborns with highest gestational exposure to contaminants found in Lake Ontario fish have significantly poorer habituation recoveries and appear to overreact to stimulation, and b) at 6 months, 4 years, and 6 years of age these children show emotional dysregulation. Emotional dysregulation is frequently associated with corresponding increases in cardiovascular and cortisol reactivity to acute stress, however, psychophysiological reactivity has not yet been investigated in humans with gestational exposure to environmental toxicants. Determining the effects of these environmental toxicants on psychophysiological reactivity to acute stress is important given evidence that a) heightened or prolonged cardiovascular reactivity is associated with pathophysiological processes (e.g., vascular changes, lipid mobilization), and b) heightened cortisol reactivity is associated with psychopathological processes (e.g., social withdrawal, anxiety). The proposed study examines reactivity to acute stress in children currently participating in the Oswego Newborn and Infant Development Project, an ongoing longitudinal study of 224 children born to women interviewed between 1991 and 1994. Extensive data currently exists for these children, including background sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic status, maternal health behaviors) and gestational toxicant exposure levels determined by maternal dietary recall and cord blood levels. The proposed laboratory protocol will provide a) assessment of emotional, cardiovascular, and cortisol reactivity to mildly stressful events, and b) assessment of a number of psychosocial variables (e.g., anxiety, depression). Important features of this proposed study include a) the participation of children currently involved in a longitudinal study and, therefore, no new recruitment, b) an assessment of a full range of possible consequences of gestational exposure to environmental toxicants, including emotional, cardiovascular, and cortisol reactivity, and c) the ability to relate these emotional and psychophysiological outcomes to the large set of existing data for these children (e.g., cognitive functioning).

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01ES010190-02
Application #
6382336
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-6 (01))
Program Officer
Kirshner, Annette G
Project Start
2000-09-01
Project End
2004-08-31
Budget Start
2001-09-01
Budget End
2002-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$165,095
Indirect Cost
Name
College at Oswego
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Oswego
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
13126
Gump, Brooks B; Mackenzie, James A; Bendinskas, Kestutis et al. (2011) Low-level Pb and cardiovascular responses to acute stress in children: the role of cardiac autonomic regulation. Neurotoxicol Teratol 33:212-9
Gump, Brooks B; Reihman, Jacki; Stewart, Paul et al. (2009) Blood lead (Pb) levels: further evidence for an environmental mechanism explaining the association between socioeconomic status and psychophysiological dysregulation in children. Health Psychol 28:614-20
Gump, Brooks B; Reihman, Jacki; Stewart, Paul et al. (2009) Trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms over her child's life span: relation to adrenocortical, cardiovascular, and emotional functioning in children. Dev Psychopathol 21:207-25
Gump, Brooks B; Stewart, Paul; Reihman, Jacki et al. (2008) Low-level prenatal and postnatal blood lead exposure and adrenocortical responses to acute stress in children. Environ Health Perspect 116:249-55
Gump, Brooks B; Reihman, Jacki; Stewart, Paul et al. (2007) Blood lead (Pb) levels: a potential environmental mechanism explaining the relation between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular reactivity in children. Health Psychol 26:296-304
Gump, Brooks B; Stewart, Paul; Reihman, Jacki et al. (2005) Prenatal and early childhood blood lead levels and cardiovascular functioning in 9(1/2) year old children. Neurotoxicol Teratol 27:655-65
Gump, Brooks B; Reihman, Jacki; Stewart, Paul et al. (2005) Terrorism and cardiovascular responses to acute stress in children. Health Psychol 24:594-600
Stewart, Paul; Fitzgerald, Susan; Reihman, Jacqueline et al. (2003) Prenatal PCB exposure, the corpus callosum, and response inhibition. Environ Health Perspect 111:1670-7