Monday, 27 August 2012
How Poverty Harms the Brain
The brain is highly sensitive to the environment in which it develops, especially during childhood. Since the experiments conducted in the 1960s with rats raised in environments rich in sensory and social stimulation, there is no longer any doubt that an enriched environment promotes brain development, whereas an impoverished environment slows it down.
Regarding humans, there have been countless studies showing that low socio-economic status, usually associated with a poor environment, alters functions such as attention, working memory, language, and self-control. Beyond these, there are the overall harmful effects of social inequality on health. In Montreal, Quebec, for example, life expectancies are 10 years lower in poor neighbourhoods than in rich ones.
At the 2010 Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, Helen Neville of the University of Oregon described her studies on the brains of 3- to 5-year-old children who grow up in poor environments. Of course, she has observed the cognitive delays that are typical in children who are neglected. But she has also shown that by training parents and by working with children to develop their attention and self-control, it is possible to reduce their behavioural problems and improve their cognitive and social skills.
Dr. Neville also runs a web site called Changing Brains that presents a dozen videos about simple conditions to encourage to help children’s brains develop to their full potential.
Neuroscience exposes pernicious effects of poverty
Changing Brains
How the Mind Develops, Mental Disorders | Comments Closed
