Severe Poverty Affects Brain Development, Study Shows

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (8/29, Boulton) reported that a study conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison “has added to the mounting evidence that growing up in severe poverty affects the way children’s brains develop, potentially putting them at a lifelong disadvantage.” The study, published recently in JAMA Pediatrics, “found that the parts of the brain tied to academic performance were 8% to 10% smaller for children who grow up in very poor households.” The study drew from 823 MRI scans “of 389 children, ages 4 to 22, from a National Institutes of Health study done to show normal brain development.”

Related Links:

— “Growing up in severe poverty affects brain size, UW-Madison study shows,” Guy Boulton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 29, 2015.

Posted in In The News.