The Korea National Institute of Health under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced that it has confirmed that ultrafine particles generated during indoor cooking can induce cognitive decline.

The research team conducted a study using mice to determine how ultrafine particles produced during the cooking process affect brain health.

Transgenic mice, which are widely used in the development of Alzheimer's disease treatments, were utilized for the study.

The results showed that changes were observed in the brain regions responsible for memory in mice exposed to ultrafine particles.

Their spatial memory and ability to recognize environmental changes also declined.

Furthermore, the expression of proteins responsible for memory formation and connections between neurons decreased, and the cellular signaling system showed signs of malfunctioning.

The research team explained that while further verification is needed to determine the impact on humans as this was an animal model study, it is significant in that it experimentally suggests the possibility that indoor environmental factors can trigger the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases.