Longitudinally Mapping Childhood Socioeconomic Status Associations with Cortical and Subcortical Morphology

Abstract

Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) impacts cognitive development and mental health, but its association with human structural brain development is not yet well characterized. Here, we analyzed 1243 longitudinally acquired structural MRI scans from 623 youth (299 female/324 male) to investigate the relation between SES and cortical and subcortical morphology between ages 5 and 25 years. We found positive associations between SES and total volumes of the brain, cortical sheet, and four separate subcortical structures. These associations were stable between ages 5 and 25. Surface-based shape analysis revealed that higher SES is associated with areal expansion of lateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate, lateral temporal, and superior parietal cortices and ventrolateral thalamic, and medial amygdalohippocampal subregions. Meta-analyses of functional imaging data indicate that cortical correlates of SES are centered on brain systems subserving sensorimotor functions, language, memory, and emotional processing. We further show that anatomical variation within a subset of these cortical regions partially mediates the positive association between SES and IQ. Finally, we identify neuroanatomical correlates of SES that exist above and beyond accompanying variation in IQ. Although SES is clearly a complex construct that likely relates to development through diverse, nondeterministic processes, our findings elucidate potential neuroanatomical mediators of the association between SES and cognitive outcomes.

Subcortical structural variations associated with low socioeconomic status in adolescents

“…Consistent with previous findings (Hanson et al, , ; Leonard et al, ; Luby et al, ; McDermott et al, ; Noble et al, ), we observed indications of variations in hippocampal structure by IPR among males. However, unlike previous results, we observed that lower IPR males showed evidence of outward local shape variation in the right anterior hippocampus (CA1 region).…”

“…Supplemental analyses of volume found a similar pattern of a positive association between IPR and thalamic volume in males and a negative association in females, although only for females did the result survive stringent Bonferroni correction. Our finding in females supports McDermott et al () who found that lower SES was associated with lower thalamic volume and inward shape changes. The thalamus is a key center for integrating basal ganglia networks that underlie the ability to modulate behaviors, for example, the expression of goal directed behaviors through movement, and the processes of emotion, motivation, and cognition that lead to movement (Haber & Calzavara, ).…”

“…These findings contrast those of Ball et al () who did not find that SES was associated with reduced basal ganglia volume, and are consistent with Leonard et al () who found reduced caudate volume in adolescents from low SES backgrounds, albeit nonsignificant. Our significant basal ganglia findings also contrast those of McDermott et al () as these researchers did not observe any significant morphological or volumetric associations with SES. However, our study differed in several methodological ways from McDermott et al, who measured SES using a two‐factor index of parental education and occupation, which are prestige‐based measures, whereas we used IPR, which is a resource‐based measure.…”

“…Leonard et al () observed that adolescents from low‐SES backgrounds had smaller caudate volume compared to their high‐SES counterparts; however, this difference was not statistically significant, perhaps due to the relatively small sample ( N = 58). A larger study of 325 youth (Ball et al, ) also did not find associations between SES and volume of the basal ganglia or thalamus; however, stringent health‐based eligibility criteria may have obscured associations, as more recently, McDermott et al () found that low SES was associated with smaller volume of the striatum and thalamus.…”

Hippocampal alterations and functional correlates in adolescents and young adults with congenital heart disease

“…However, evaluation of the hippocampus performed to date has been restricted to whole volume measurement only. M. Chakravarty et al, 2015;McDermott et al, 2019;Schroeder et al, 2017). M. Chakravarty et al, 2015;McDermott et al, 2019;Schroeder et al, 2017).…”