National Geographic: How wildfire smoke can permanently damage your brain and body
Adam Schuller, an environmental toxicologist at CSU, has described three ways pollutants might reach the brain: particles travel in oxygenated blood from the lungs directly to the brain; particles directly enter the brain along the olfactory tract; or inflammatory factors triggered by an inflammatory response in the lungs invade the brain. Just as you might check the weather before heading out for a hike or other activity, “it’s getting people in the mindset that they should look at the air quality before they go outside to know whether they should be outside at all,” CSU environmental toxicologist Luke Montrose says.