美国研究人员发现，塑料中普遍含有的一种化学物质“双酚A”与猴子大脑功能失常和情绪紊乱有关。

双酚A简称BPA，被广泛应用于塑料制造，包括饮料瓶、食品容器和奶瓶等。BPA可从塑料制品中渗透到食品和水中，关于BPA是否危害人类尤其是未成年人健康的争议由来已久，这是对BPA可能有害健康所进行的一系列研究中最新一项。此前有老鼠试验表明，BPA与行为变化、大脑变化和青春期提前等有关。

美国耶鲁大学医学院研究人员在最新一期《国家科学院学报》上报告说，试验中，他们让年轻的非洲绿猴接触的双酚Ａ含量处于美国环保局认为对人体安全的标准之内，结果发现这种化学物质影响猴子大脑中海马区和前额叶两个关键区域的神经连接，对于认知和情绪控制具有干扰作用。

负责国家毒理学计划的助理局长约翰·布赫说：“这些在动物试验中看到的变化是否直接适用于人类、是否会导致明显有害于健康的影响还存在很大的不确定性。但我们的结论是，不能排除BPA会影响人类发育的可能性。”

研究人员说，基于这些发现，他们认为美国环保局要考虑降低人类BPA接触量的安全值。

原始出处：

PNAS Published online before print September 3, 2008, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0806139105

Bisphenol A prevents the synaptogenic response to estradiol in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of ovariectomized nonhuman primates

Csaba Leranth*,, Tibor Hajszan*, Klara Szigeti-Buck*, Jeremy Bober*, and Neil J. MacLusky

Exposure measurements from several countries indicate that humans are routinely exposed to low levels of bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic xenoestrogen widely used in the production of polycarbonate plastics. There is considerable debate about whether this exposure represents an environmental risk, based on reports that BPA interferes with the development of many organs and that it may alter cognitive functions and mood. Consistent with these reports, we have previously demonstrated that BPA antagonizes spine synapse formation induced by estrogens and testosterone in limbic brain areas of gonadectomized female and male rats. An important limitation of these studies, however, is that they were based on rodent animal models, which may not be representative of the effects of human BPA exposure. To address this issue, we examined the influence of continuous BPA administration, at a daily dose equal to the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's reference safe daily limit, on estradiol-induced spine synapse formation in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of a nonhuman primate model. Our data indicate that even at this relatively low exposure level, BPA completely abolishes the synaptogenic response to estradiol. Because remodeling of spine synapses may play a critical role in cognition and mood, the ability of BPA to interfere with spine synapse formation has profound implications. This study is the first to demonstrate an adverse effect of BPA on the brain in a nonhuman primate model and further amplifies concerns about the widespread use of BPA in medical equipment, and in food preparation and storage.