Families in Hawaiʻi contributed to research out that is insightful and heartbreaking. Brain scans of children and adolescents here and on the U.S. mainland show that in poorer families, children’s brains are less developed than those of children from wealthier families. The less-developed areas include those important for language, reading and spatial skills. The study found that those with lower income had smaller brain surfaces and poorer cognitive performance, independent of race or ethnicity.
University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine Professors Linda Chang and Thomas Ernst, joined investigators at the University of California-San Diego to lead the study at nine U.S. research centers. The researchers collected brain scans, computerized cognitive assessments and genetic data from more than 1,400 children, ages 3 to 20 years. In Hawaiʻi, scans of 256 children and adolescents were taken at The Queen’s Medical Center.
The research, “Family income, parental education and brain structure in children and adolescents,” was reported online in the Journal Nature Neuroscience.
“We are grateful to the children and their families who participated in this study,” said Chang. “The data will continue to allow many researchers across the United States and the world to address many questions related to brain development.”
Small differences could make an impact
Also important was a finding that even small differences in income could lead to improvement. “Among children from low income families, small differences (increments) in income could lead to larger brain surfaces,” Chang said. Larger brain surfaces indicate better development in brains, which can be influenced by nutrition, interaction and engaging children in language, reading and play.
Poverty’s profound impact
“One conclusion from the study could be that policies related to reducing poverty may have meaningful effects on children’s brain functioning and cognitive development,” Chang said.
Without intervention, the cost to society could be significant. The 2013 U.S. Census Data shows nearly 13 percent of children in Hawai’i live in poverty. Those with lessened brain development could become adults less qualified for the workforce, or plagued by even more troubling problems.
The National Institutes of Health funded the research. The paper’s leading authors were scientists at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Columbia University Medical Center.
—A John A. Burns School of Medicine story
—By Tina Shelton
