The stress of
growing up poor can hurt a child’s brain development starting before birth,
research suggests—and even very small differences in income can have major
effects on the brain. Researchers have long suspected that children’s behaviour
and cognitive abilities are linked to their socioeconomic status, particularly
for those who are very poor. The reasons have never been clear, although
stressful home environments, poor nutrition, exposure to industrial chemicals
such as lead and lack of access to good education are often cited as possible
factors.
A team led by
neuroscientists Kimberly Noble from Columbia University in New York City and
from Children's Hospital Los Angeles, California, looked into the biological
underpinnings of these effects. They imaged the brains of 1,099 children,
adolescents and young adults in several US cities. Because people with lower
incomes in the United States are more likely to be from minority ethnic groups,
the team mapped each child’s genetic ancestry and then adjusted the
calculations so that the effects of poverty would not be skewed by the small
differences in brain structure between ethnic groups.
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