Abstract:Epidemiological evidence suggests that long-term exposure to PM2.5 in the elderly may lead to memory impairment. In order to explore the effects of short-term and severe haze weather on human health, C57BL/6J mice were used to study the neurotoxicity caused by acute high concentration PM2.5 contamination for one week by nasal drip with different concentrations of PM2.5 (0, 193, 1 930, 19 300 μg·kg-1·day-1). In this paper, the cognitive ability of mice exposed to PM2.5 was tested by Morris water maze test, and then the histopathological examination (H&E) and oxidative stress level (ROS, MDA, SOD) were performed in the brain tissue of mice. The results showed that acute exposure to high concentration PM2.5 did not affect the growth and development of mice's brain, but led to a decline in cognitive ability of mice. The average escape latency of mice in high dose PM2.5 exposure group was significantly different from that of mice in blank control group (represents P<0.05). Pathological damage appeared in hippocampus of mice brain tissue, ROS level and MDA content increased, SOD activity decreased in brain tissue of mice. The experiment revealed that acute exposure to high concentration PM2.5 would cause oxidative damage to brain tissue, damage the structure of hippocampal nerve central cells, and affect the learning and memory ability of mice.