Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Childhood Pb-induced cognitive dysfunction: structural equation modeling of hot and cold executive functions

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 35, pages 715–724 (2025)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Childhood lead [Pb] exposure has been consistently linked to neurotoxic effects related to the prefrontal cortex, a critical mediating structure involved in decision-making, planning, problem-solving, and specific aspects of short-term memory, i.e., the components of executive functions [EFs]. Limited studies have taken a deeper phenotyping approach that assess Pb’s effects across multiple EF dimensions simultaneously, which can be organized into hot [e.g., reward, motivation] and cold [e.g., primary cognitive processing] dimensions.

Objective

We investigated whether childhood Pb exposure affects hot and cold EF dimensions and assessed any sexually dimorphic effects.

Methods

Leveraging a longitudinal birth cohort based in Mexico City, children’s (n = 602) whole blood Pb levels (mean 23.66 μg/L) were measured at ages 4–6 and they were administered several EF tasks at ages 6–9. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that six EF tests estimated two latent variables representing hot and cold EF dimensions. Structural equation modeling [SEM] estimated the neurotoxic effect of childhood Pb exposure on latent variables of hot [higher scores indicate improved performance] and cold [higher scores indicate poorer performance] EFs. Subsequently, a multi-group SEM explored potential effect modifications by child sex.

Results

Pb exposure was significantly associated with negative impacts on hot EF performance [b = −0.129, p = 0.004]. In both males (b = −0.128, p = 0.032) and females (b = −0.132, p = 0.027), childhood Pb exposure was significantly associated with a reduction in hot EF performance, with no evidence of an interaction with sex. Additionally, we found no association between Pb exposure and cold EF performance [b = 0.063, p = 0.392] and no notable sex differences.

Impact

  • The present study leverages a sophisticated SEM framework as an exploratory tool and a neurotoxic framework to analyze multidimensional cognitive data, aiming to delineate hot and cold EFs. Our findings are consistent with neurotoxicity secondary to childhood Pb exposure impacting hot EF performance more than cold EF, though comparable trends were noted in cold EF performance for both sexes. Our approach uniquely captures hot EF, the more emotional and self-regulatory aspect of EF, adding a novel dimension to the literature on Pb exposure and cognitive development.

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Unstandardized estimates derived from the first-order CFA aimed at quantifying three indicators related to hot and cold EF dimensions.
Fig. 2: Unstandardized estimates derived from the SEM on the effect of childhood blood Pb exposure on hot and cold EF dimensions.
Fig. 3: Unstandardized estimates derived from the multi-group SEM to compare males [n = 309] and females [n = 293] on the effect of childhood blood Pb exposure on hot and cold EF dimensions.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

All other data are available upon request to robert.wright@mssm.edu.

References

  1. Miller EK, Cohen JD. An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2001;24:167–202.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Nee DE. D’Esposito M. The hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortex. eLife. 2016;5:e12112.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Freedman R, Olson L, Hoffer BJ. Toxic effects of lead on neuronal development and function. Environ Health Perspect. 1990;89:27–33.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Sanders T, Liu Y, Buchner V, Tchounwou PB. Neurotoxic effects and biomarkers of lead exposure: a review. Rev Environ Health. 2009;24:15–45.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Sharma P, Chambial S, Shukla KK. Lead and neurotoxicity. Indian J Clin Biochem. 2015;30:1–2.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. White LD, Cory-Slechta DA, Gilbert ME, Tiffany-Castiglioni E, Zawia NH, Virgolini M, et al. New and evolving concepts in the neurotoxicology of lead. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2007;225:1–27.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Ara A, Usmani JA. Lead toxicity: a review. Interdiscip Toxicol. 2015;8:55–64.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Chiodo LM, Jacobson SW, Jacobson JL. Neurodevelopmental effects of postnatal lead exposure at very low levels. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2004;26:359–71.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Liu JA, Chen Y, Gao D, Jing J, Hu Q. Prenatal and postnatal lead exposure and cognitive development of infants followed over the first three years of life: a prospective birth study in the Pearl River Delta region, China. Neurotoxicology. 2014;44:326–34.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Merced-Nieves FM, Chelonis J, Pantic I, Schnass L, Téllez-Rojo MM, Braun JM, et al. Sexually dimorphic associations between prenatal blood lead exposure and performance on a behavioral testing battery in children. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2022;90:107075.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ramírez Ortega D, González Esquivel DF, Blanco Ayala T, Pineda B, Gómez Manzo S, Marcial Quino J, et al. Cognitive impairment induced by lead exposure during lifespan: mechanisms of lead neurotoxicity. Toxics. 2021;9:23.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Arnold OM, Liu J. Blood lead levels ≤10 micrograms/deciliter and executive functioning across childhood development: a systematic review. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2020;80:106888.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Fraser S, Muckle G, Despres C. The relationship between lead exposure, motor function and behaviour in Inuit preschool children. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2006;28:18–27.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Neuwirth LS, Lopez OE, Schneider JS, Markowitz ME. Low-level lead exposure impairs fronto-executive functions: a call to update the DSM–5 with lead poisoning as a neurodevelopmental disorder. Psychol Neurosci. 2020;13:299.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Kponee-Shovein KZ, Weisskopf MG, Grashow R, Rotem RS, Coull BA, Schnaas L, et al. Estimating the causal effect of prenatal lead exposure on prepulse inhibition deficits in children and adolescents. Neurotoxicology. 2020;78:116–26.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Diamond A. Executive functions. Annu Rev Psychol. 2013;64:135–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Gilbert SJ, Burgess PW. Executive function. Curr Biol. 2008;18:R110–R114.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Salehinejad MA, Ghanavati E, Rashid MHA, Nitsche MA. Hot and cold executive functions in the brain: A prefrontal-cingular network. Brain Neurosci Adv. 2021;5:23982128211007769.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Ward J. The Student’s. Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience. London: Taylor & Francis; 2020.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Zelazo PD, Müller U. Executive function in typical and atypical development. In: Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development. Blackwell Publishing; 2002. pp. 445–69.

  21. Clifford A, Lang L, Chen R, Anstey KJ, Seaton A. Exposure to air pollution and cognitive functioning across the life course–a systematic literature review. Environ Res. 2016;147:383–98.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Fruh V, Rifas-Shiman SL, Amarasiriwardena C, Cardenas A, Bellinger DC, Wise LA, et al. Prenatal lead exposure and childhood executive function and behavioral difficulties in project viva. Neurotoxicology. 2019;75:105–15.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Rafiee A, Delgado-Saborit JM, Sly PD, Quemerais B, Hashemi F, Akbari S, et al. Environmental chronic exposure to metals and effects on attention and executive function in the general population. Sci Total Environ. 2020;705:135911.

  24. Tyler CR, Allan AM. The effects of arsenic exposure on neurological and cognitive dysfunction in human and rodent studies: a review. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2014;1:132–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-014-0012-1.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Cardenas A, Rifas-Shiman SL, Agha G, Hivert MF, Litonjua AA, DeMeo DL, et al. Persistent DNA methylation changes associated with prenatal mercury exposure and cognitive performance during childhood. Sci Rep. 2017;7:288. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00384-5.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Wright RO, Amarasiriwardena C, Woolf AD, Jim R, Bellinger DC. Neuropsychological correlates of hair arsenic, manganese, and cadmium levels in school-age children residing near a hazardous waste site. Neurotoxicology. 2006;27:210–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2005.10.001.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Heng YY, Asad I, Coleman B, Menard L, Benki-Nugent S, Hussein Were F, et al. Heavy metals and neurodevelopment of children in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review. PLoS ONE. 2022;17:e0265536. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265536.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Zelazo PD, Carlson SM. Hot and cool executive function in childhood and adolescence: development and plasticity. Child Dev Perspect. 2012;6:354–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Chan RC, Shum D, Toulopoulou T, Chen EY. Assessment of executive functions: review of instruments and identification of critical issues. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2008;23:201–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Banich MT. Executive function: The search for an integrated account. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2009;18:89–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Barbey AK, Koenigs M, Grafman J. Dorsolateral prefrontal contributions to human working memory. Cortex. 2013;49:1195–205.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Gundacker C, Forsthuber M, Szigeti T, Kakucs R, Mustieles V, Fernandez MF, et al. Lead (Pb) and neurodevelopment: A review on exposure and biomarkers of effect (BDNF, HDL) and susceptibility. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2021;238:113855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2021.113855.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Chen A, Cai B, Dietrich KN, Radcliffe J, Rogan WJ. Lead exposure, IQ, and behavior in urban 5- to 7-year-olds: does lead affect behavior only by lowering IQ? Pediatrics. 2007;119:e650–e658.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Moodie S, Ialongo N, López P, Rosado J, García-Vargas G, Ronquillo D, et al. The conjoint influence of home enriched environment and lead exposure on children’s cognition and behaviour in a Mexican lead smelter community. Neurotoxicology. 2013;34:33–41.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Tamayo Y Ortiz M, Téllez-Rojo MM, Trejo-Valdivia B, Schnaas L, Osorio-Valencia E, Coull B, et al. Maternal stress modifies the effect of exposure to lead during pregnancy and 24-month old children’s neurodevelopment. Environ Int. 2017;98:191–7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Grissom NM, Reyes TM. Let’s call the whole thing off: evaluating gender and sex differences in executive function. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2019;44:86–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Barg G, Daleiro M, Queirolo EI, Ravenscroft J, Mañay N, Peregalli F, et al. Association of low lead levels with behavioral problems and executive function deficits in schoolers from Montevideo, Uruguay. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15:2735.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Ji Y, Hong X, Wang G, Chatterjee N, Riley AW, Lee LC, et al. A prospective birth cohort study on early childhood lead levels and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: new insight on sex differences. J Pediatr. 2018;199:124–31.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Braun JM, Wright RJ, Just AC, Power MC, Tamayo y Ortiz M, Schnaas L, et al. Relationships between lead biomarkers and diurnal salivary cortisol indices in pregnant women from Mexico City: a cross-sectional study. Environ Health. 2014;13:1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Henn BC, Ettinger AS, Schwartz J, Téllez-Rojo MM, Lamadrid-Figueroa H, Hernández-Avila M, et al. Early postnatal blood manganese levels and children’s neurodevelopment. Epidemiology. 2010;21:433.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Sandberg MA Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery. In: Kreutzer JS, DeLuca J, Caplan B, editors. Encyclopedia of clinical neuropsychology. New York, NY: Springer; 2011.

  42. Paule MG, Chelonis JJ, Buffalo EA, Blake DJ, Casey PH. Operant test battery performance in children: correlation with IQ. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 1999;21:223–30.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Paule MG, Cranmer JM, Wilkins JD, Stern HP, Hoffman EL. Quantitation of complex brain function in children: preliminary evaluation using a nonhuman primate behavioral test battery. Neurotoxicology. 1988;9:367–78.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Lane JM, Curtin P, Chelonis J, Pantic I, Martinez S, Tellez Rojo MM, et al. Prenatal manganese biomarkers and operant test battery performance in Mexican children: effect modification by child sex. Environ Res. 2023;236(Pt 2):116880.

  45. Fergusson DM, Lynskey MT. Maternal age and cognitive and behavioural outcomes in middle childhood. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 1993;7:77–91.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Sosu EM, Schmidt P. Changes in cognitive outcomes in early childhood: the role of family income and volatility. Front Psychol. 2022;13:758082.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Carrasco AV. The AMAI system of classifying households by socio-economic level. ESOMAR, 2002.

  48. Morris P, Gillam MP, Allen RR, Paule MG. The effect of chronic cocaine exposure during pregnancy on the acquisition of operant behaviors by rhesus monkey offspring. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 1996;18:155–66.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Hopman HJ, Choy HY, Ho WS, Lu H, Wong WHO, Chan SMS, The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation antidepressant response on cold cognition: a single-arm prospective longitudinal study. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2021;17:1647–1658.

  50. Kline RB Convergence of structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling. In: Williams M, Vogt WP, editors. Handbook of methodological innovation. London, England: Sage; 2011. p. 562–89.

  51. Meyers LS, Gamst G, Guarino AJ. Applied multivariate research: design and Interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications; 2013.

  52. Canfield RL, Gendle MH, Cory-Slechta DA. Impaired neuropsychological functioning in lead-exposed children. Dev Neuropsychol. 2004;26:513–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Boucher O, Jacobson SW, Plusquellec P, Dewailly E, Ayotte P, Forget-Dubois N, et al. Prenatal methylmercury, postnatal lead exposure, and evidence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder among Inuit children in Arctic Québec. Environ Health Perspect. 2012;120:1456–61.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Dietrich KN, Succop PA, Berger OG. Lead exposure and the motor developmental status of urban six-year-old children in the Cincinnati Prospective Study. Pediatrics. 1993;91:301–7.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Fraser S, Muckle G, Després C. The relationship between lead exposure, motor function and behaviour in Inuit preschool children. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2006;28:18–27.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Lucchini RG, Guazzetti S, Renzetti S, Conversano M, Cagna G, Fedrighi C, et al. Neurocognitive impact of metal exposure and social stressors among schoolchildren in Taranto, Italy. Environ Health. 2019;18:1–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Schwartz J. Low-level lead exposure and children′ s IQ: a metaanalysis and search for a threshold. Environ Res. 1994;65:42–55.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Tatsuta N, Nakai K, Kasanuma Y, Iwai-Shimada M, Sakamoto M, Murata K, et al. Prenatal and postnatal lead exposures and intellectual development among 12-year-old Japanese children. Environ Res. 2020;189:109844.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Neuwirth LS, Lopez OE, Schneider JS, Markowitz ME. Low-level lead exposure impairs fronto-executive functions: a call to update the DSM-5 with lead poisoning as a neurodevelopmental disorder. Psychol Neurosci. 2020;13:299–325.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. Miodovnik A. Environmental neurotoxicants and developing brain. Mt Sinai J Med. 2011;78:58–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Lidsky TI, Schneider JS. Lead neurotoxicity in children: basic mechanisms and clinical correlates. Brain. 2003;126:5–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Fernández García L, Merchán A, Phillips-Silver J, Daza González MT. Neuropsychological development of cool and hot executive functions between 6 and 12 years of age: a systematic review. Front Psychol. 2021;12:687337.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  63. Lemire-Rodger S, Lam J, Viviano JD, Stevens WD, Spreng RN, Turner GR. Inhibit, switch, and update: a within-subject fMRI investigation of executive control. Neuropsychologia. 2019;132:107134.

  64. Panikratova YR, Vlasova RM, Akhutina TV, Korneev AA, Sinitsyn VE, Pechenkova EV. Functional connectivity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex contributes to different components of executive functions. Int J Psychophysiol. 2020;151:70–79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Stuss DT. Functions of the frontal lobes: relation to executive functions. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2011;17:759–65.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Mukerji CE, Lincoln SH, Dodell-Feder D, Nelson CA, Hooker CI. Neural correlates of theory-of-mind are associated with variation in children’s everyday social cognition. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2019;14:579–89.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  67. Ochsner KN, Gross JJ. The cognitive control of emotion. Trends Cogn Sci. 2005;9:242–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Jedrychowski W, Perera F, Jankowski J, Mrozek-Budzyn D, Mroz E, Flak E, et al. Gender specific differences in neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal exposure to very low-lead levels: the prospective cohort study in three-year olds. Early Hum Dev. 2009;85:503–10.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. Kim Y, Cho SC, Kim BN, Hong YC, Shin MS, Yoo HJ, et al. Association between blood lead levels (< 5 μg/dL) and inattention-hyperactivity and neurocognitive profiles in school-aged Korean children. Sci Total Environ. 2010;408:5737–43.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Joo H, Choi JH, Burm E, Park H, Hong YC, Kim Y, et al. Gender difference in the effects of lead exposure at different time windows on neurobehavioral development in 5-year-old children. Sci Total Environ. 2018;615:1086–92.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  71. Kim DS, Ahn S, Yu S, Lee EH. The association between lead concentration in the blood and neurobehavioral performance of children. Toxicol Environ Health Sci. 2012;4:87–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Singh G, Singh V, Sobolewski M, Cory-Slechta DA, Schneider JS. Sex-dependent effects of developmental lead exposure on the brain. Front Genet. 2018;9:89.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  73. Kaczkurkin AN, Raznahan A, Satterthwaite TD. Sex differences in the developing brain: insights from multimodal neuroimaging. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2019;44:71–85.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  74. Llop S, Lopez-Espinosa MJ, Rebagliato M, Ballester F. Gender differences in the neurotoxicity of metals in children. Toxicology. 2013;311:3–12.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  75. Wierenga LM, Bos MG, van Rossenberg F, Crone EA. Sex effects on development of brain structure and executive functions: greater variance than mean effects. J Cogn Neurosci. 2019;31:730–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  76. Flores J, Albert LA. Environmental lead in Mexico, 1990-2002. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol. 2004;181:37–109.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  77. Romieu I, Palazuelos E, Hernandez Avila M, Rios C, Muñoz I, Jimenez C, et al. Sources of lead exposure in Mexico City. Environ Health Perspect. 1994;102:384–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  78. Arora M, Austin C, Sarrafpour B, Hernández-Ávila M, Hu H, Wright RO, et al. Determining prenatal, early childhood and cumulative long-term lead exposure using micro-spatial deciduous dentine levels. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e97805.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  79. Chen G, Glen DR, Saad ZS, Paul Hamilton J, Thomason ME, Gotlib IH, et al. Vector autoregression, structural equation modeling, and their synthesis in neuroimaging data analysis. Comput Biol Med. 2011;41:1142–55.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  80. Stroman PW, Powers JM, Ioachim G. Proof-of-concept of a novel structural equation modelling approach for the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data applied to investigate individual differences in human pain responses. Hum Brain Mapp. 2023;44:2523–42.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  81. McIntosh AR, Gonzalez-Lima F. Structural equation modeling and its application to network analysis in functional brain imaging. Hum Brain Mapp. 1994;2:2–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the entire PROGRESS study team, as well as the participants.

Funding

Research funding was provided in part by NIH grants: T32HD049311, K99ES036277; R01ES014930, R01ES013744, R24ES028522, P30ES023515, R01ES026033, R01MH122447, R01ES029511, R01ES028927, R03ES033374, and K25HD104918.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Jamil M. Lane, Vishal Midya, Cecilia S. Alcala, Katherine Svensson, Megan K. Horton & Robert O. Wright

  2. Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Shelley H. Liu

  3. Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Shoshannah Eggers

  4. Department of Developmental Neurobiology, National Institute of Perinatology, Mexico City, Mexico

    Sandra Martinez-Medina

  5. Institute for Exposomic Research, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Megan K. Horton & Robert O. Wright

  6. Departments of Environmental Health and Neurology, Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Roberta F. White

  7. Center for Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Martha M. Téllez-Rojo

Authors
  1. Jamil M. Lane
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shelley H. Liu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Vishal Midya
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Cecilia S. Alcala
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Shoshannah Eggers
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Katherine Svensson
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Sandra Martinez-Medina
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Megan K. Horton
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Roberta F. White
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Martha M. Téllez-Rojo
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Robert O. Wright
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

JML: Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, data interpretation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, Visualization. SHL: Supervision, methodology, data interpretation, writing – review & editing. VM, CSA, and SE: Writing – review & editing. SMM: Project administration, data curation. MKH and RFW: Writing – review & editing, review of final draft. MMTR: Investigation, resources, project administration, data curation, writing – review & editing. ROW: Investigation, resources, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition, writing – review & editing, review of final draft.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jamil M. Lane.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study adheres to approved protocols from the institutional review boards of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai [IRB protocol number: 12-00751A], and all three committees [Research, Ethics in Research, and Biosafety] were included in the IRB at the National Institute of Public Health in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants during the first visit and all methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lane, J.M., Liu, S.H., Midya, V. et al. Childhood Pb-induced cognitive dysfunction: structural equation modeling of hot and cold executive functions. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 35, 715–724 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-025-00761-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-025-00761-7

Keywords

Search

Advanced search

Quick links