title: Effects of prenatal exposure to PCBs on the neurological function of children: a neuropsychological and neurophysiological study.
abstract: To determine the long-term neurotoxicity of prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 54 children--27 'Yu-Cheng' ('oil disease') children and 27 controls--were administered a battery of tests, including the WISC-R, auditory event-related potentials (P300), pattern visual evoked potentials (P-VEPs) and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs). Full-scale IQ scores on the WISC-R were lower for the Yu-Cheng group than for the control group. Mean P300 latencies were significantly longer, and P300 amplitude significantly more reduced, in the Yu-Cheng group than in the control group at Cz and Pz. There were no significant difference in peak latencies and amplitudes between the two groups for P-VEPs and SSEPs. These findings suggest that prenatal exposure to PCBs tends to affect high cortical function rather than the sensory pathway in the developing brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012275:Oryza; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000506:poisoning*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011930:Reaction Time; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls