Subcortical structural variations associated with low socioeconomic status in adolescents

Abstract

Low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with a higher probability of multiple exposures (e.g., neighborhood violence, poor nutrition, housing instability, air pollution, and insensitive caregiving) known to affect structural development of subcortical brain regions that subserve threat and reward processing, however, few studies have examined the relationship between SES and such subcortical structures in adolescents. We examined SES variations in volume and surface morphometry of subcortical regions. The sample comprised 256 youth in eighth grade (mean age = 13.9 years), in whom high dimensional deformation mapping of structural 3T magnetic resonance imaging scans was performed. Vertex‐wise linear regression analyses examined associations between income to poverty ratio and surfaces of the hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, caudate, putamen, nucleus accumbens and pallidum, with the covariates age, pubertal status, and intracranial volume. Given sex differences in pubertal development and subcortical maturation at this age, the analyses were stratified by sex. Among males, who at this age average an earlier pubertal stage than females, the relationship between SES and local shape variation in subcortical regions was almost entirely positive. For females, the relationship between SES and local shape variation was negative. Racial identity was associated with SES in our sample, however supplementary analyses indicated that most of the associations between SES and subcortical structure were independent of it. Although these cross‐sectional results are not definitive, they are consistent with a scenario where low SES delays structural maturation of subcortical regions involved with threat and reward processing. Future longitudinal studies are needed to test this hypothesis.

The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Brain Volume in Children and Adolescents With Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

“…Thus, here we targeted subcortical regions, with the parallel aim to extend understanding of SES-related alterations among subcortical volumes. Importantly, since the review of the present study, others have shown associations between SES factors and subcortical brain volumes among adolescents (McDermott et al, 2019;Jenkins et al, 2020;Machlin et al, 2020); therefore validating the original aim to target subcortical regions. A primary mechanism for PAE-related harm is through lasting alterations on central stress regulation (Raineki et al, 2014(Raineki et al, , 2019.…”

Network, clinical and sociodemographic features of cognitive phenotypes in temporal lobe epilepsy

“…Relatedly, there is a substantial literature demonstrating associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and brain structure and development involving multiple brain regions, including cerebellum ( Cavanagh et al, 2013 , Conant et al, 2017 , Farah, 2017 , Farah, 2018 , Jenkins et al, 2019 , Kim et al, 2019 , Leijser et al, 2018 ). To our knowledge, total ICV has not been examined in relation to economic or social disadvantage.…”

Adversity in childhood is linked to mental and physical health throughout life

“…Although the first three years of life are generally emphasized, older children exhibit remarkable plasticity in molding their personalities and behaviors. 27 68 Effective interventions exist to treat and possibly prevent psychopathology emerging after childhood trauma, but implementation needs to be scaled up. 7…”