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Poverty linked to reduced brain development in children
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Children from families living below the federal poverty level are at risk for reduced development of gray matter in the frontal and temporal lobes, according to recent study data.
“The novel evidence presented in this study seems to suggest that one component linking parental socioeconomic status to children’s achievement and human capital more broadly operates through a neurobiological mechanism,” Nicole L. Hair, PhD, of the department of health management and policy at the University of Michigan, and colleagues wrote. “Our work suggests that specific brain structures tied to processes critical for learning and educational functioning are vulnerable to the environmental circumstances of poverty, such as stress, limited stimulation, and nutrition.”
The study researchers analyzed 823 MRI brain scans from 389 developing children aged 4 to 22 years. The data was collected from the NIH Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Normal Brain Development, a previous study that collected neuroimaging and sociodemographic data from children three times during a 72-month period.
Study results showed that children’s scores on cognitive achievement tests and the amount of gray matter in their brains were both affected by their parent’s socioeconomic status. Children from lower income families displayed reduced brain structure development in the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, and hippocampus. Regional gray matter volumes were 8 to 10 percentage points below the developmental norm in children living below the federal poverty level (P < .05).
Children living below the federal poverty level scored lower on academic and cognitive achievement tests. A difference in maturation of the frontal and temporal lobes was recorded between children in low-income families, compared with children living at or above the poverty level. The researchers posit that 15% to 20% of the difference in test scores could be attributed to the reduced brain structure development in these regions caused by limited financial resources.
“Development in these brain regions appears sensitive to the child’s environment and nurturance,” Hair and colleagues wrote. “These observations suggest that interventions aimed at improving children’s environments may also alter the link between childhood poverty and deficits in cognition and academic achievement.” – by David Costill
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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