Key Takeaway: Family financial situation and neighborhood resources are the strongest predictors of brain development in children, accounting for 16% of variability in brain function.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis analyzed hundreds of biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors in nearly 12,000 children aged 9-10. The results point to a clear and powerful link between a child's socioeconomic environment and their brain development.
Key Findings
Socioeconomic factors accounted for about 16% of variability in children's brain function — a stronger influence than IQ, parenting style, or health history.
Of the top 40 variables linked to brain function, 37 were socioeconomic. Similarly, of the top 40 variables tied to brain structure, 35 were socioeconomic.
These socioeconomic factors were strongly associated with brain regions related to motor and sensory areas, which are particularly sensitive to sleep and stress.
When adjusting for socioeconomic status, most associations between IQ and brain measures diminished. In fact, among children from high socioeconomic backgrounds, IQ showed no correlation with brain structure or function at all.
The relationships between socioeconomic variables and the brain were not linked to demographic factors such as sex and race.
Interpretation
Senior author Nico U. Dosenbach stated that the findings suggest socioeconomic disadvantage affects the brain indirectly through disrupted sleep and chronic stress, noting that sleep and stress are modifiable factors.
The study was published June 11 in Science and was funded by the National Institutes of Health and other organizations.