Poverty affects children’s brains, but study finds public policy can reduce impact
“Researchers looked at brain images from 11,000 children in 17 different states that offer a range of health benefits and cash assistance to low-income families.
On average, they found children in states with generous benefits had a larger hippocampus, the section of the brain involved in learning, memory and emotion processing. They also had fewer mental health and behavioral problems.
Harvard psychologist Kate McLaughlin said scientists have long found an association between poverty and brain size.
‘The question we had is whether the magnitude of that association — so how much [connection] growing up in a family that’s living in poverty has on a child’s brain development varies based on where you live,’ McLaughlin said.”