Summary: Growing up in poverty can influence a child’s brain development, particularly the white matter tracts that enable communication between brain regions.
New findings from a large U.S. study link both neighborhood-level and household-level poverty to measurable differences in white matter structure. These associations appear to be partly explained by higher rates of childhood obesity and lower cognitive performance among children raised in lower socioeconomic settings.
Key Facts:
- The study found associations between neighborhood and household poverty and differences in children’s white matter tracts, which are essential for efficient information processing across the brain.
- Higher prevalence of childhood obesity and reduced cognitive performance in socioeconomically disadvantaged settings partially mediated the relationship between poverty and white matter differences.
- Results come from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, one of the largest long-term investigations of brain development and child health in the U.S., tracking nearly 12,000 children for at least a decade.
Source: WUSTL
A recent study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that childhood poverty may shape the brain’s wiring.
Published June 27 in JAMA Network Open, the study reports links between both neighborhood disadvantage and household socioeconomic status and the microstructure of white matter — the packed bundles of nerve fibers that support fast communication across brain regions. White matter integrity is crucial for learning, attention, and overall cognitive processing.
These conclusions derive from baseline data in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, launched by the National Institutes of Health in 2015. Washington University is one of 21 study sites contributing to the ABCD Study, which follows nearly 12,000 children starting at ages 9–10 and continues for at least a decade, making it the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States.
“White matter integrity is very important in brain development,” said Zhaolong (Adrian) Li, the study’s first author and a neuroimaging research technician in the Department of Psychiatry. “Weaknesses in white matter have been linked to visuospatial difficulties and mental health challenges in children. Understanding how socioeconomic conditions shape white matter early in life could eventually inform preventive strategies.”
The researchers also explored potential pathways that might explain how poverty relates to white matter differences. Two notable mediators emerged: increased rates of obesity and lower cognitive performance among children living in disadvantaged settings. Children raised in lower-income households or neighborhoods tend to have higher body mass index (BMI) and score lower on standardized cognitive tests — differences that can reflect reduced access to enriching sensory, social, and educational experiences.
“If obesity and cognitive enrichment are confirmed as mediating factors, this would support programs focused on healthy weight management and on providing cognitively stimulating environments for disadvantaged children,” said Tamara Hershey, PhD, James S. McDonnell Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and professor of psychiatry and radiology.
The neuroimaging analyses were conducted at the Neuroimaging Labs Research Center in Washington University’s Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. Using publicly available ABCD data, the team applied a restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) model to diffusion MRI scans from 8,842 children aged 9 to 11 to measure directional and isotropic water diffusion within 31 major white matter tracts. These diffusion patterns serve as indirect markers of white matter organization and cellular composition.
Analogous to how rocks and boulders alter a river’s flow, cellular structures in the brain affect how water molecules move. The study found reduced directional diffusion — indicating altered oriented myelin organization — in several tracts among children living in poverty. The researchers also observed increased isotropic diffusion and greater water content in spherical brain spaces, findings that could reflect neuroinflammation or shifts in glial and neuronal cell bodies in these children.
Socioeconomic disadvantage at both the neighborhood and household level encompasses many overlapping stressors: higher unemployment, greater financial insecurity, lower rates of home ownership, fewer educational opportunities, and less access to resources that support healthy development. The analysis showed associations between neighborhood deprivation indices and white matter differences, as well as associations when household measures such as annual income and parental education were examined.
“Income inequality is growing in the U.S., and early evidence suggests it may impact brain development and mental health,” said Scott Marek, PhD, co-corresponding author and assistant professor of radiology and psychiatry. “Our results highlight that socioeconomic status is not a single factor — neighborhood context, parental education, and household income each contribute in different ways to children’s brain health.”
Hershey cautioned that the study examines cross-sectional baseline data, so it cannot establish causation. Because the ABCD Study is longitudinal, future follow-up scans and cognitive assessments will be able to track developmental trajectories over time, helping to clarify whether and how socioeconomic factors cause lasting changes in brain structure.
“We hope these findings prompt further longitudinal research and trials focused on modifiable risk factors — such as healthy weight and enriched cognitive environments — that could be targeted by interventions to support brain development among disadvantaged children,” Hershey added.
About this neurodevelopment research news
Author: Judy Martin Finch
Source: WUSTL
Contact: Judy Martin Finch – WUSTL
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. “Associations Between Socioeconomic Status, Obesity, Cognition, and White Matter Microstructure in Children” by Zhaolong (Adrian) Li et al., JAMA Network Open
Abstract
Associations Between Socioeconomic Status, Obesity, Cognition, and White Matter Microstructure in Children
Importance
Lower neighborhood and household socioeconomic status (SES) are linked to poorer health outcomes and changes in brain structure. It remains unclear whether SES relates to white matter microstructure and through which mechanisms.
Objective
To determine whether neighborhood and household SES independently associate with children’s white matter microstructure, and to test whether obesity and cognitive performance — markers of physical health and environmental cognitive stimulation — may mediate those associations.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This cross-sectional analysis used baseline ABCD Study data collected at 21 U.S. sites through school-based recruitment to represent the U.S. population. Children aged 9 to 11 and their caregivers completed assessments between October 1, 2016, and October 31, 2018. After exclusions, 8,842 of 11,875 participants were included. Data analysis occurred from July to December 2022.
Exposures
Neighborhood disadvantage was measured with area deprivation indices linked to the child’s primary residence. Household SES indicators included total household income and highest parental educational attainment.
Main Outcomes and Measures
Restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) quantified restricted normalized directional diffusion (RND), reflecting oriented myelin organization, and restricted normalized isotropic diffusion (RNI), reflecting glial and neuronal cell bodies, across 31 major white matter tracts. Obesity was measured by BMI, BMI z-scores adjusted for age and sex, and waist circumference. Cognition was assessed using the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery. Models accounted for age, sex, pubertal stage, intracranial volume, head motion, and familial relatedness.
Results
Among 8,842 children (51.4% boys; mean age 9.9 years), greater neighborhood disadvantage correlated with lower RSI-RND in specific tracts such as the superior longitudinal fasciculus and forceps major. Lower parental education was associated with lower RSI-RND in several bilateral tracts including the superior longitudinal fasciculus and corticospinal tracts. Structural equation models indicated that lower cognitive scores and higher obesity rates partially mediated SES associations with RSI-RND. Lower household income and greater neighborhood disadvantage were also linked to higher RSI-RNI in multiple tracts, with obesity again appearing as a partial mediator. Findings were robust in sensitivity analyses and were supported by diffusion tensor imaging results.
Conclusions and Relevance
In this cross-sectional sample, both neighborhood and household socioeconomic contexts were associated with differences in white matter microstructure in children. Obesity and cognitive performance emerged as plausible mediators. Future longitudinal research that considers multiple socioeconomic dimensions, health indicators, and cognitive environments may better inform interventions to support brain health in disadvantaged youth.