Exposure to Toxic Environmental Agents in the Form of Fragrances and Development of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

In this chapter, the authors explore how the human brain develops and what the critical stages are in which a fetal brain may acquire genetic and developmental abnormalities through environmental agents. They summarize the prevailing theories regarding the etiologies of autism and present scientific data supporting the thesis that some of the most commonly used environmental agents that we have so easily accepted into our social fabric of life may be major contributors in the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). They provide a large body of scientific data carried out in their laboratory, utilizing developing human neurons exposed to femtomolar concentrations of chemicals found in fragrances. The studies demonstrate that synthetic fragrances can impart profound neuromodifications at the morphologic, immunologic, and molecular levels. It is hypothesized that high exposure to teratogenic neurotoxins in our environment during critical periods of development best explains the rapid rise of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis over the past three decades.