A new study says that permanent damage can be caused to the brain if a child is exposed to lead.

Study author Kim Cecil, an imaging scientist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and a professor of radiology, pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, said in a news release, "What we have found is that no region of the brain is spared from lead exposure. Distinct areas of the brain are affected differently."

The study involved 33 adults with the mean age of 21 who were enrolled as infants in the long-term Cincinnati Lead Study, looking into prenatal and early childhood exposure in 376 infants from high-risk areas of Cincinnati between 1979 and 1987.

The participants of the study had blood levels between the ranges of 5 micrograms to 37 micrograms per deciliter, with a mean of 14. IQ deficiencies were detected in them along with histories of juvenile delinquency and criminal arrests.

The participants' brains were examined while they did two tasks that assess attention, decision making and impulse control.

As per Cecil, the white matter of the brain which organizes and matures at an early age adapts to lead exposure. However, the frontal lobe suffers permanent damage from lead exposure as it matures.