College of Education, Humanities & Social Sciences, 289293 Al Ain University , 64141, Al Jimi, UAE.
Faculty of Education, Tanta University, Al-Geish St., 122011, Tanta, Egypt.
Rev Neurosci. 2024 Apr 15;35(6):597-617. doi: 10.1515/revneuro-2023-0163. Print 2024 Aug 27.
In this article, we, for the first time, provide a comprehensive overview and unified framework of the impact of poverty and low socioeconomic status (SES) on the brain and behaviour. While there are many studies on the impact of low SES on the brain (including cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and even neurotransmitters) and behaviours (including educational attainment, language development, development of psychopathological disorders), prior studies did not integrate behavioural, educational, and neural findings in one framework. Here, we argue that the impact of poverty and low SES on the brain and behaviour are interrelated. Specifically, based on prior studies, due to a lack of resources, poverty and low SES are associated with poor nutrition, high levels of stress in caregivers and their children, and exposure to socio-environmental hazards. These psychological and physical injuries impact the normal development of several brain areas and neurotransmitters. Impaired functioning of the amygdala can lead to the development of psychopathological disorders, while impaired hippocampus and cortex functions are associated with a delay in learning and language development as well as poor academic performance. This in turn perpetuates poverty in children, leading to a vicious cycle of poverty and psychological/physical impairments. In addition to providing economic aid to economically disadvantaged families, interventions should aim to tackle neural abnormalities caused by poverty and low SES in early childhood. Importantly, acknowledging brain abnormalities due to poverty in early childhood can help increase economic equity. In the current study, we provide a comprehensive list of future studies to help understand the impact of poverty on the brain.
在这篇文章中，我们首次提供了贫困和低社会经济地位（SES）对大脑和行为影响的全面概述和统一框架。虽然有许多关于低 SES 对大脑（包括皮层、海马体、杏仁核，甚至神经递质）和行为（包括教育程度、语言发展、心理病理障碍的发展）影响的研究，但以前的研究没有将行为、教育和神经发现整合到一个框架中。在这里，我们认为贫困和低 SES 对大脑和行为的影响是相互关联的。具体来说，根据先前的研究，由于资源匮乏，贫困和低 SES 与营养不良、照顾者及其子女的压力水平高以及暴露于社会环境危害有关。这些心理和身体上的伤害会影响几个大脑区域和神经递质的正常发育。杏仁核功能受损可能导致心理病理障碍的发展，而海马体和皮层功能受损与学习和语言发展延迟以及学业成绩不佳有关。这反过来又使儿童陷入贫困的恶性循环，导致贫困和心理/身体损伤。除了向经济困难家庭提供经济援助外，干预措施还应旨在解决儿童早期贫困和低 SES 引起的神经异常。重要的是，承认儿童早期贫困导致的大脑异常可以帮助提高经济公平性。在目前的研究中，我们提供了一个全面的未来研究清单，以帮助了解贫困对大脑的影响。
