The Hidden Toxins Impacting Our Kids’ Brains
Pesticides are everywhere; surely someone must have tested them and shown them to be safe for human exposure? Surely, they aren’t linked to brain damage in children? If you’re convinced by that reasoning, read no further—and miss how a study linked an organophosphate pesticide, chlorpyrifos, to “measurable differences in brain structure, along with reduced motor skills” in kids.
With the growing epidemic of neurodevelopmental disorders in children, varying from mild to disabling and coming in all imaginable forms, more and more researchers are looking at the chemicals of modern society to find explanations. With each new study linking another synthetic chemical to some short- or long-term health condition, the wake-up train is gaining speed. With each new study, interest grows in continuing to explore the over 80,000 synthetic chemicals produced in modern nations.
For this study, 270 New York City babies were enrolled in a cohort because they had detectable levels of chlorpyrifos in their cord blood. At 6 and 14 years later, they underwent brain imaging and behavioral assessments. This study not only demonstrated a correlation between structural brain differences in imaging and worse performances in motor speed and coordination, but also showed that the higher levels had more severe impairments.
Prior to its banning for indoor use in 2001, indoor exposure was the primary factor. Now, however, we face its continued use in agricultural communities. Whether they’ve been working in non-organic farming or simply living nearby, pregnant moms and their infants are at risk of such adverse effects still.
The study reported that the changes in brain structure were widespread throughout the brain. During pregnancy and infancy, children’s brains grow the fastest, putting the at their most vulnerable to these toxicities. The researchers suspect that other organophosphate pesticides have similar effects.
In functional medicine, we are not surprised by findings like this. When we care for children with neurodevelopmental conditions, we find that those children have some of the highest levels of toxins reported by their urine tests. Only the elderly with neurodegenerative conditions can compare to the kid’s high levels. Thankfully, once we identify these toxins, we can educate parents on lowering the children’s exposures and instruct them on how to detox their children. With the right anti-inflammatories and the right detox support, these children can recover healthier, more abundant lives over a number of months. If only we, as a society, would take these threats seriously, functional medicine providers like myself could focus attention elsewhere, but until then, here we wait to help such families.
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Original Article:
Bradley S. Peterson, Sahar Delavari, Ravi Bansal, Siddhant Sawardekar, Chaitanya Gupte, Howard Andrews, Lori A. Hoepner, Wanda Garcia, Frederica Perera, Virginia Rauh. Brain Abnormalities in Children Exposed Prenatally to the Pesticide Chlorpyrifos. JAMA Neurology, 2025; 82 (10): 1057 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.2818
Thanks to Science Daily:
Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “Scientists find hidden brain damage from a common pesticide.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 November 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251107010322.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
