A widely used insecticide may leave lasting effects on children’s brains if exposure happens before birth, according to a major study published in JAMA Neurology.
Researchers found that children exposed to higher levels of the chemical chlorpyrifos during pregnancy showed important differences in brain structure and poorer movement skills years later.
The findings add to growing concerns about how environmental chemicals may affect children during some of the most sensitive stages of brain development.
Chlorpyrifos, often shortened to CPF, is an insecticide that has been used for decades to kill insects on crops and in homes. It belongs to a group of chemicals called organophosphate pesticides.
These pesticides work by attacking the nervous systems of insects, but scientists have long worried that they may also harm the developing brains of unborn babies and young children.
Although the United States Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of chlorpyrifos inside homes in 2001, the chemical has continued to be used in agriculture on some non-organic fruits, vegetables, and grains. People who live near farming areas may still be exposed through air, dust, or food.
The new study was led by researchers from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
The researchers followed 270 children and teenagers who were part of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health birth cohort. The participants were born to African-American and Latino mothers, and all had measurable levels of chlorpyrifos in their umbilical cord blood at birth.
Umbilical cord blood can provide important information about what babies were exposed to before they were born.
The researchers later evaluated the children between the ages of 6 and 14. The participants completed behavioral tests and underwent brain imaging scans that allowed scientists to closely examine how the brain had developed over time.
The results showed a clear pattern. Children who had higher prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos showed more changes in brain structure, brain function, and brain metabolism compared with those who had lower exposure levels.
The study also found a “dose-dependent” relationship. This means that the more chlorpyrifos a child had been exposed to before birth, the greater the changes seen in the brain.
In addition to the brain imaging findings, children with higher exposure performed worse on tests measuring motor speed and motor programming. These skills help control movement, coordination, and the ability to plan physical actions.
Researchers said the findings provide strong evidence that prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos may disrupt normal brain development in lasting ways.
Brain development during pregnancy is extremely complex. During this period, billions of nerve cells grow, connect, and organize into networks that support thinking, memory, emotions, movement, and behavior. Scientists say this process is highly sensitive to outside influences, including toxic chemicals.
The researchers noted that the effects observed in the study were not limited to one small area of the brain. Instead, the changes appeared across broad regions, suggesting that chlorpyrifos may affect many important systems involved in healthy brain function.
Senior author Dr. Virginia Rauh from Columbia University said current exposure levels in some communities may still be high enough to put pregnant women and unborn babies at risk.
She explained that people living near agricultural areas, especially farm workers and their families, may continue to face exposure through outdoor air and contaminated dust.
The study’s first author, Dr. Bradley Peterson from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, said the widespread disturbances seen in brain tissue and metabolism were especially concerning. He added that other organophosphate pesticides may produce similar effects and should also be studied carefully.
Researchers emphasized that pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood are particularly vulnerable periods because the brain is developing so rapidly during these stages.
Over the past several years, scientists have increasingly examined how environmental toxins may influence children’s long-term health.
Previous studies have linked pesticide exposure to problems involving attention, learning, behavior, memory, and IQ. Some research has also suggested possible links to developmental disorders.
The new study strengthens these concerns because it directly examined brain scans and functional testing in children who had documented exposure before birth.
However, the researchers also acknowledged some limitations. The study focused mainly on children from specific urban minority communities in the United States, so the findings may not apply equally to all populations.
The research also cannot prove with complete certainty that chlorpyrifos alone caused all the observed changes because other environmental and social factors may also influence development.
Even so, the consistency of the findings and the clear exposure-response pattern make the results difficult to ignore.
The study may also have important public health implications. Scientists say reducing pesticide exposure during pregnancy may help protect developing brains. Washing fruits and vegetables carefully, reducing exposure to agricultural spraying, and supporting stricter environmental protections may help lower risk.
At the same time, researchers stress that more studies are needed to understand how long these brain changes may last and whether some effects can improve over time.
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