How mercury and selenium together may affect teen brain development and later mental health
Official title: Assessment of the joint influence of methylmercury and selenium upon postnatal brain development and risk for psychiatric disorders
Funded at University of Hawaii at Manoa · NIH-11251924 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at whether low-level mercury exposure during adolescence combined with different selenium diets can harm brain cells linked to mood and behavior in teens and young adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Hawaii at Manoa NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Honolulu, United States) |
| Project start | February 9, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $391,249 |
| NIH project number | 5R01ES035851-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251924 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People of adolescent or young-adult age who are concerned about past or ongoing mercury exposure or its possible effects on mood and behavior would be most relevant to this research.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose psychiatric conditions are clearly unrelated to environmental exposures or who are well beyond young adulthood may not directly benefit from these findings.
What this research studies
Researchers will study how chronic, low-dose mercury exposure during adolescence interferes with antioxidant selenoenzymes and harms key brain cells that balance excitation and inhibition. They will focus on fast-spiking parvalbumin interneurons and follow molecular, cellular, and behavioral changes into young adulthood using lab models and targeted measurements. The team will compare different dietary selenium levels to see if selenium lessens mercury-related redox, calcium, and mitochondrial problems. Behavioral tests will look for changes that resemble psychiatric symptoms seen in humans.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to dietary or environmental steps that lower the risk of mood and other psychiatric problems tied to adolescent mercury exposure.
How similar studies have gone: Prior lab and animal studies show mercury can disrupt selenoenzymes and cause oxidative stress that harms inhibitory neurons, but linking low-dose adolescent exposure to adult psychiatric-like outcomes is still relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pitts, Matthew William — University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Study coordinator: Pitts, Matthew William
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Whole-chromosome fine-mapping across diverse ancestries to understand psychiatric disorders
A study to pinpoint the exact genetic changes that contribute to bipolar disorder and related conditions by using diverse populations to improve accuracy.
-
Neuronal signals guiding deep brain stimulation for neuropsychiatric disorders
A doctor-scientist at Stanford plans to study how deep brain stimulation changes brain cells and circuits in people with OCD, depression, and movement disorders to improve how DBS therapies work.
-
How a spouse's mental health and substance use may affect a partner's drinking problems
A study looks at how a spouse’s psychiatric disorders and drinking habits influence when a person starts, stops, or relapses into alcohol use problems within marriage.
-
Mapping brain microstructure in psychiatric disorders with normal ranges
A study will build a brain-mapping reference to understand how an individual’s brain differs within the normal range, with a focus on youths and how age and sex affect brain microstructure.
-
Foundation Models for Brain Imaging in Psychiatry
A large AI model will be trained on many brain scans and related data to help researchers understand ADHD, autism, and bipolar disorder.
-
How early pollution and stress change brain circuits for motivation and memory
This work looks at how early-life exposure to pollution and stress can alter brain circuits that control motivation and working memory for people with ADHD, depression, or similar conditions.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.