Family Income Could Affect Kid's Brain Structure, Study

According to a new study, children coming from richer and better educated families were found to have more cognitive skills when compared to their less fortunate peers

Analysis of MRI scans of children from lower income families revealed differences in brain structure when compared with those of children from well-to-do families.

Fortunately, the study also said with teaching and adequate social help, children can be made to overcome these differences.

Elizabeth Sowell of the University of Southern California and co-author of the study said, "We found that the relationship between brain (structure) and family income impacted kids' cognitive functioning."

She however went on to add that with better teaching, community programs for children and by improving lunches at schools could prove to be very helpful.

Sowell added, "It is not too late to think about how to impact resources that enrich the developmental environment that in turn help the brain wire itself together."

While scientists have for some time suspected the impact of socioeconomic inequalities in cognitive development, the extent to which altered brain structure was unclear.

For the purpose of the study, the team tested 1,099 boys and girls between the age groups of 3 to 20 across different population groups.

Details on incomes of both parents were ascertained through questionnaires while surface area measurement of the brains were obtained through MRI's.

The researchers discovered that as the family income levels increased, the brain surface of the children also increased on an average. This included regions supporting spatial skills, reading, language and executive functions. These are essentially mental processes that enable children to remember, focus and multitask.

Lead author of the study Dr Kimberly Noble said, "The important thing to realize is that, even though we are able to measure differences in brain structure in childhood and adolescence as a function of SES [socioeconomic status], it does not mean that disadvantaged children were or are 'doomed."

Dr Noble added, "We strongly believe that these differences reflect differences in experience --- learning experiences inside and out of the home, family stress, nutrition, environmental toxicants, quality child care --- that themselves shape brain development. By intervening at the level of those experiences, especially early in childhood, we could prevent or redirect children's detrimental outcomes."