Brains of poor and rich kids vary

[theblackalchemist]

Brains of poor and rich kids vary

 

Socio-economic conditions play a major role in brain activities of children, with EEG images showing that poor children's brain resembles that of

stroke victims.

 

Researchers from University of California, Berkeley, have shown for the first time that the brains of low-income children function differently from the brains of high-income kids. The research is to be published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

 

Scientists at UC Berkeley's Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and the School of Public Health report that normal 9- and 10-year-olds differing only in socioeconomic status have detectable differences in the response of their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that is critical for problem solving and creativity.

 

Brain function was measured by means of an electroencephalograph (EEG) - basically, a cap fitted with electrodes to measure electrical activity in the brain - like that used to assess epilepsy, sleep disorders and brain tumours, reports Science Daily. "Kids from lower socio-economic levels show brain physiology patterns similar to someone who actually had damage in the frontal lobe as an adult," said Robert Knight, director of the institute and a UC Berkeley professor of psychology.

 

Brains of poor and rich kids vary-Health/Sci-The Times of India