Children's Brain Development Affected by Parent's Income & Education

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A study compared the brain development of children in relation to their family income and their parents' educational backgrounds. It was found that both aspects greatly affected a child's brain size.  

According to Medical News Today, researchers from the Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital in Los Angeles and from Columbia University Medical Center in New York published the study in the journal "Nature Neuroscience." Over 1,000 children, ages 3 to 20 years old, were observed during the research, reports Medical Daily.

Researchers measured the brains of the children using MRI scans. Multiple reports say that the researchers specifically measured the surface area of the brain which contains the cell linked to intelligence, states WRCB-TV.

In addition, Yahoo states that questionnaires were distributed concerning the children's family income and parents' educational backgrounds, age, and ancestry. The results of the study showed a clear relation between income, parents' education, and a child's learning potential.  

In terms of the parents' educational background, researchers compared parents with high school degrees or lower to parents with college degrees and higher. It resulted in a three percent difference in the brain surface area of their children, meaning parents with lower educational achievements had kids with lower brain surface, reports Yahoo.  

The real difference, however, was shown when comparing family incomes which resulted in a six percent difference in the children's brain surface area. In addition, researchers found that as the family income increases, so does the brain surface of the child; specifically in areas concerning language, reading, spatial skills, and executive functions. 

WRCB-TV reports that Dr. Kimberly Noble, a lead author in the study states, "Specifically, among children from the lowest-income families, small differences in income were associated with relatively large differences in surface area in a number of regions of the brain associated with skills important for academic success." 

Noble also stated that the researchers believe the results do not necessarily link wealth with intelligence, so children in lower income homes are not "doomed' automatically. They do believe, however, that the child's brain development is linked with certain experiences that people in lower income homes go through.  

Noble says on Yahoo, "We strongly believe that these difference 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." 

To understand more about the study, watch the video below.