Socioeconomic status and structural brain development

Abstract

Recent advances in neuroimaging methods have made accessible new ways of disentangling the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors that influence structural brain development. In recent years, research investigating associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and brain development have found significant links between SES and changes in brain structure, especially in areas related to memory, executive control, and emotion. This review focuses on studies examining links between structural brain development and SES disparities of the magnitude typically found in developing countries. We highlight how highly correlated measures of SES are differentially related to structural changes within the brain.

Cortical area and subcortical volume mediate the effect of parental education and adverse experiences on cognitive performance in youth

“…Our study contributes to a growing literature on the role played by brain structure and physiology in explaining associations between environmental factors and cognition among youth [3,46]. If disadvantage and adversity have unique implications for neurocognitive development, as our results suggest, then remediation is likely to be more effective at improving educational outcomes when targeted to specific peer-reviewed) is the author/funder.…”

Individual Differences in Language Acquisition and Processing

“…However, currently there is not enough data from other cultures to begin to grasp the effects of such variation, and the field will benefit significantly from more crosscultural comparisons [70]. Note also that so-called 'SES effects' are not solely reducible to cultural influences; they are also linked to a host of environmental factors (e.g., diet [71] and activity [72]) that affect brain development [73].…”

Developmental delay in early childhood is associated with visual-constructive skills at school age in a Brazilian cohort

“…Previous publications with this longitudinal data reported that socioeconomic conditions and maternal mental health were associated with language (Piccolo et al, 2012), memory and executive function performance, and stress (Piccolo et al 2016). Studies have reported that environmental-such as socioeconomic status, home language environment, parental style, parental mental health-and biological factors-cortisol and neurotransmitter levels, for example-may influence the typical sequence of child development, affecting cognitive abilities (Brito & Noble, 2014;Johnson et al 2016;Noble et al, 2015). The stimulation of sensorimotor abilities in the first years of life seems to be crucial for the development of subsequent cognitive skills (Hernandez & Caçola, 2015;Tierney & Nelson, 2009).…”