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Socioeconomic status and the brain: mechanistic insights from human and animal research

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 11, pages 651–659 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Human brain development occurs within a socioeconomic context and childhood socioeconomic status (SES) influences neural development — particularly of the systems that subserve language and executive function. Research in humans and in animal models has implicated prenatal factors, parent–child interactions and cognitive stimulation in the home environment in the effects of SES on neural development. These findings provide a unique opportunity for understanding how environmental factors can lead to individual differences in brain development, and for improving the programmes and policies that are designed to alleviate SES-related disparities in mental health and academic achievement.

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Figure 1: Parental regulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank our funding institutions for their support of our research and in the preparation of this article. M.J.M. was supported by grants from the US National Institute of Health, Child Health and Human Development, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Hope for Depression Research Foundation. M.J.F and D.A.H were supported by grants from the NICHD (grant R01-HD055689), the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA grant R01-DA14129), the US Office of Naval Research (grant N000140710034) and the MacArthur Foundation Law and Neuroscience Project. We also thank K. Matula for her assistance with references.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Daniel A. Hackman and Martha J. Farah are at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Society, University of Pennsylvania, 3720 Walnut Street, Room B51, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6241, USA.,

    Daniel A. Hackman & Martha J. Farah

  2. Michael J. Meaney is at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada; Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Psychobiology at McGill University, Montrea, Quebec H3A 2T5, Canada and the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, 30 Medical Drive, Singapore 117609.,

    Michael J. Meaney

  3. Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Psychobiology at McGill University, Montrea, Quebec H3A 2T5, Canada and the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, 30 Medical Drive, Singapore 117609.,

    Michael J. Meaney

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Hackman, D., Farah, M. & Meaney, M. Socioeconomic status and the brain: mechanistic insights from human and animal research. Nat Rev Neurosci 11, 651–659 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2897

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