Socioeconomic factors are becoming 'biologically embedded' in children's brains

A new study finds that the socioeconomics of a preteen's neighborhood can leave a distinctive pattern in their brains. Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images hide caption

The most powerful factors affecting a child's brain development involve socioeconomic opportunities, according to a study in the journal Science .

The analysis of more than 2,300 9- and 10-year-olds found that environmental factors ranging from household income to education to neighborhood quality are associated with brain differences that can clearly be seen in MRI scans.

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The researchers also found that preteens who'd grown up in neighborhoods with lower incomes and limited social support had brain differences associated with less sleep and more stress.

"Something is going on in these neighborhoods," says Scott Marek , the study's first author and an assistant professor of radiology at WashU School of Medicine. "We need to find out how socioeconomics is becoming biologically embedded."

The research "highlights the fact that the environment in which we grow up and live has powerful impacts on our brain," says Russell Poldrack , a psychology professor at Stanford University who was not involved in the study.

It also challenges earlier research that focused on links between brain development and factors like IQ and mental health.