Exposure to lead during pregnancy and early childhood may speed up the rate at which children forget information, potentially impairing learning and cognitive development, according to a new study.

The study employed a well-established cognitive test known as the delayed matching-to-sample task to assess memory performance in children aged 6 to 8, Xinhua news agency reported.

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, US, applied a novel statistical model -- the nonlinear modified power function -- which had previously been used in animal and human studies but is now being adapted for environmental health research.