As per Euronews.green, Dr Chris Carlsten, head of respiratory medicine at the University of British Columbia and senior author of the study, stated that "for many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution."

"This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection between air pollution and cognition", he added.

For the study, doctors exposed 25 healthy adults to both diesel polluted air and filtered air for brief amounts of time.

The results showed that, when exposed to diesel fumes, people's brains didn't function properly and the ability to learn and memorize things were both affected.

Dr Jodie Gawryluk, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria, said that "while more research is needed to fully understand the functional impacts of these changes, it's possible that they may impair people's thinking or ability to work."

While the effects of the changes were temporary in the case of the patients, doctors warn that constant exposure, in the case of city dwellers, can cause long-lasting damage to the brain's neural networks.

It can be tempting to drive with the windows down during hot summer days in a busy city, but researchers say that this only makes drivers more vulnerable to car smog.

What they should to instead is use the air conditioner, since it has special filters that are able to remove some of these pollutants, assuming of course that it's somewhat new.

"Air pollution is now recognised as the largest environmental threat to human health and we are increasingly seeing the impacts across all major organ systems," Dr. Carlsten added.