School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e35744. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035744. Epub 2012 Apr 26.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) develops from birth through late adolescence. This extended developmental trajectory provides many opportunities for experience to shape the structure and function of the PFC. To date, a few studies have reported links between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and prefrontal function in childhood, raising the possibility that aspects of environment associated with SES impact prefrontal function. Considering that behavioral measures of prefrontal function are associated with learning across multiple domains, this is an important area of investigation. In this study, we used fMRI to replicate previous findings, demonstrating an association between parental SES and PFC function during childhood. In addition, we present two hypothetical mechanisms by which SES could come to affect PFC function of this association: language environment and stress reactivity. We measured language use in the home environment and change in salivary cortisol before and after fMRI scanning. Complexity of family language, but not the child's own language use, was associated with both parental SES and PFC activation. Change in salivary cortisol was also associated with both SES and PFC activation. These observed associations emphasize the importance of both enrichment and adversity-reduction interventions in creating good developmental environments for all children.
前额皮质（prefrontal cortex，PFC）从出生到青春期后期都在发育。这种扩展的发育轨迹为经验塑造 PFC 的结构和功能提供了许多机会。迄今为止，有几项研究报告了父母的社会经济地位（socioeconomic status，SES）与儿童期前额叶功能之间的联系，这使得 SES 相关环境的各个方面影响前额叶功能成为可能。考虑到前额叶功能的行为测量与多个领域的学习有关，这是一个重要的研究领域。在这项研究中，我们使用 fMRI 复制了先前的发现，证明了父母 SES 与儿童期前额叶功能之间存在关联。此外，我们提出了两种 SES 可能影响这种关联的前额叶功能的假设机制：语言环境和应激反应性。我们测量了家庭环境中的语言使用情况以及 fMRI 扫描前后唾液皮质醇的变化。家庭语言的复杂性与父母 SES 和 PFC 激活都有关，而不是孩子自己的语言使用。唾液皮质醇的变化也与 SES 和 PFC 激活有关。这些观察到的关联强调了丰富和减少逆境的干预措施对于为所有儿童创造良好的发展环境的重要性。
