Fish Consumption and Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure: Cognitive and Behavioral Outcomes in the Main Cohort at 17 Years from the Seychelles Child Development Study
Authors: P. Davidson, et al.
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Journal: NeuroToxicology, December 2011
Summary: The people of the Seychelles Islands eat fish daily and their mercury levels are among the highest in the world, over ten times that of samples in the United States. Researchers studied the children in this population through age 17 years and found no consistent pattern of harm from prenatal mercury exposure. There is actually evidence of improved performance as prenatal mercury exposure increases because mercury is a marker for fish consumption, which contains nutrients with long-lasting brain benefits.