Friday, October 10, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Mathematics

Poverty linked with brain changes that contribute to behavior, illness, and development

April 15, 2024
in Mathematics
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Integrative framework of the links between brain and behavioural abnormalities due to poverty
65
SHARES
595
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT

What determines mental health, school performance, and even cognitive development? A new review in De Gruyter’s Reviews in the Neurosciences suggests that poverty and low socioeconomic status (SES) are key contributory factors. Other studies have examined the isolated effects of poverty on the brain or on behavior. However, this new review provides the first unified framework that uses evidence from the literature to directly link the brain changes that result from low SES to behavioral, pathological, and developmental consequences.

Integrative framework of the links between brain and behavioural abnormalities due to poverty

Credit: Eid Abo Hamza et al./De Gruyter

What determines mental health, school performance, and even cognitive development? A new review in De Gruyter’s Reviews in the Neurosciences suggests that poverty and low socioeconomic status (SES) are key contributory factors. Other studies have examined the isolated effects of poverty on the brain or on behavior. However, this new review provides the first unified framework that uses evidence from the literature to directly link the brain changes that result from low SES to behavioral, pathological, and developmental consequences.

SES refers to the social standing of an individual or family, and involves factors such as wealth, occupation, educational attainment, and living conditions. As well as affecting day-to-day life, perhaps surprisingly SES can also have far-reaching consequences for our brains that begin in childhood and persist into adulthood.

So, how can poverty and low SES change the brain? The review examines the negative effects of poor nutrition, chronic stress, and environmental hazards (such as pollution and inadequate housing conditions), which are more likely to affect low SES families. These factors can impair the brain development of children, which in turn can influence their language skills, educational attainment, and risk of psychiatric illness.

For instance, families with low SES are more likely to experience increased stress levels, and these can affect their children from an early age. Sustained stress can reduce levels of neurogenesis — the growth of new neurons — in the hippocampus, which may impair learning abilities and negatively affect educational attainment and career opportunities in later life.

The unified framework proposed by the researchers also helps to explain generational poverty, which can leave the children of SES families unable to escape their situation when they grow up and become parents themselves. This vicious cycle can be hard to break.

Interestingly, the researchers provide an extensive list of proposed studies that could test the validity of their framework and find new ways to break the generational poverty cycle. These include focusing on the effects of low SES in specific brain regions, and identifying techniques to enhance the performance of affected children in school.

The review is timely, as inequalities in society widen. Identifying specific mechanisms behind generational poverty could help researchers and policy makers to develop new early interventions. The new framework takes account of the multifactorial nature of generational poverty, and could pave the way for more holistic and sophisticated societal interventions that acknowledge this complexity.

“This research sheds light on the profound ways in which poverty and SES affect not just the present living conditions of individuals, but also their cognitive development, mental health, and future opportunities,” said Dr. Eid Abo Hamza of Al Ain University in the United Arab Emirates, who is first author of the review. “By understanding these relationships, society can better address inequalities and support those in disadvantaged situations, potentially leading to interventions that can help break the cycle of poverty.”



Journal

Reviews in the Neurosciences

DOI

10.1515/revneuro-2023-0163

Method of Research

Systematic review

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

The impact of poverty and socioeconomic status on brain, behaviour, and development: a unified framework

Article Publication Date

15-Apr-2024

COI Statement

Authors state no conflict of interest.

Share26Tweet16
Previous Post

Energy-friendly ammonia production for fertilizers and alternative fuel

Next Post

Parent perceptions of school meals influence student participation in school meal programs

Related Posts

blank
Mathematics

Superconductivity Alters Crystal Lattice in Topological Quantum Materials

October 9, 2025
blank
Mathematics

New UTEP Study Uncovers the Impact of Financial Pressure on NFL Officiating Decisions

October 8, 2025
blank
Mathematics

Open-Label Placebos Show Promise as Adjunct Therapy in Migraine Prevention

October 8, 2025
blank
Mathematics

Innovative AI Tools Empower Scientists to Trace Disease Origins

October 7, 2025
blank
Mathematics

Worcester Polytechnic Institute Leverages AI to Enhance Hydrogen Fuel Production and Minimize Environmental Impact, Study Published in Nature Chemical Engineering

October 6, 2025
blank
Mathematics

University of Tennessee Researchers in Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science Honored with NSF Early Career Awards

October 6, 2025
Next Post
Parent Perceptions of School Meals Influence Student Participation in School Meal Programs

Parent perceptions of school meals influence student participation in school meal programs

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27565 shares
    Share 11023 Tweet 6889
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    972 shares
    Share 389 Tweet 243
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    647 shares
    Share 259 Tweet 162
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    514 shares
    Share 206 Tweet 129
  • Groundbreaking Clinical Trial Reveals Lubiprostone Enhances Kidney Function

    481 shares
    Share 192 Tweet 120
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Boosting Kids’ Resilience: SPARK Trial Launched
  • Community Innovation Boosts Quito’s Primary Healthcare Resilience
  • Boosting Mental Wellbeing: Solutions for Care Workers
  • Voices of Cervical Cancer Patients in Ghana

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Blog
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,188 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading