Autism Linked to PCBs?

Here's a troubling story that broke today in the L.A. Times. Marla Cone reports that "rats exposed to low levels of PCBs in the womb and during nursing had disorganized, malfunctioning auditory centers. The auditory cortex controls the brain's processing of sounds, which is essential for language development."

Cone cites one author of the new study, which is due to be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, as saying that "we linked PCBs to an area of the brain that impacts one aspect of autism, language delays or language loss." He goes on to speculate that PCBs might cause a similar rewiring in human brains.

Of course, it's a long way from animal studies to demonstrating human risks. But it does give pause...especially since autism is a devastating disease and scientists still have few clues as to what triggers it, much less how to limit the social isolation it engenders.