Poverty Changes Children's Brains

A new study out of the University of California-Berkeley claims that the difference between the brains of 9- and 10-year-old children living in poverty and those of their wealthy peers is almost equivalent to comparing brains that have suffered strokes to healthy brains.

This study adds to a growing body of research that finds key functions of the prefrontal cortex, like language development and the ability to plan, remember details, and pay attention, to be severely compromised in the brains of children living in poverty. These effects were found to be reversible through intensive interventions that focused on these deficient skills.

Experts say this study draws important attention to studying the effects of experience, in particular socioeconomic status, on a child's ability to perform academically.