Abstract
Childhood socio-economic status (SES), a measure of the availability of material and social resources, is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong well-being. Here we review evidence that experiences associated with childhood SES affect not only the outcome but also the pace of brain development. We argue that higher childhood SES is associated with protracted structural brain development and a prolonged trajectory of functional network segregation, ultimately leading to more efficient cortical networks in adulthood. We hypothesize that greater exposure to chronic stress accelerates brain maturation, whereas greater access to novel positive experiences decelerates maturation. We discuss the impact of variation in the pace of brain development on plasticity and learning. We provide a generative theoretical framework to catalyse future basic science and translational research on environmental influences on brain development.
Highlights
Abstract | Childhood socio-economic status (SES), a measure of the availability of material and social resources, is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong well-being
How are children’s experiences embedded in their developing brains to broaden, or constrain, their opportunities to live happy and healthy lives? Much of what we know about links between early experiences and adult outcomes has come from research on socio-economic status (SES)
Previous conceptual models have organized variation in early experiences along dimensions of threat and deprivation[67,68,69]. We review these factors as possible contributors to the effects of SES on the pace of brain development
Summary
Abstract | Childhood socio-economic status (SES), a measure of the availability of material and social resources, is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong well-being. We review evidence that experiences associated with childhood SES affect the outcome and the pace of brain development. We argue that higher childhood SES is associated with protracted structural brain development and a prolonged trajectory of functional network segregation, leading to more efficient cortical networks in adulthood. Higher SES is associated with lower exposure to stress, and with greater access to cognitive enrichment, such as high-quality education, child-directed language, books and toys. We synthesize evidence that experiences associated with childhood SES affect the outcome, and the pace of brain development, and consider the implications of early brain development for plasticity in childhood. We focus on whole-brain cortical measures of structure and function because, as a broad and multidimensional construct, SES probably exerts effects on a complex constellation of brain regions and their connections. We close by outlining promising future directions for research on how children’s early experiences lead to disparities in later-life outcomes
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