A study explores links between socioeconomic status (SES) and brain anatomy and function in adults. Previous studies have reported that SES is associated with brain structure in children and older adults. However, the effect of SES on the brain in middle-aged adults remains unclear. Gagan Wig and colleagues examined the relationship between SES and the brain in 304 participants, 20-89 years of age. The authors used neuroimaging to measure brain structure and function and determined SES as a measure of the participants' education and occupation. In middle-aged adults, defined as 35-64 years of age, participants of low SES exhibited functional brain networks that were less organized and had cortical gray matter with reduced thickness, compared with participants of high SES. The effect was not associated with differences in physical or mental health, cognitive ability, or demographics. Furthermore, the authors report that differences in childhood SES could not account for the link between the participants' current SES and brain functional network organization. According to the authors, the findings suggest that SES might influence brain anatomy and network organization across middle age and play a role in age-related brain decline.
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Article #17-14021: "Socioeconomic status moderates age-related differences in the brain's functional network organization and anatomy across the adult lifespan," by Micaela Chan.
MEDIA CONTACT: Gagan Wig, University of Texas at Dallas, TX; tel: 206-962-0042; e-mail: gwig@utdallas.edu
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences