BERKELEY, Calif. (KCBS) -- Researchers at UC Berkeley have shown for the first time that the brains of low-income children function differently from the brains of kids from high-income families.
In a study published by 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.
Electrodes on the scalp and held in place by a cap to measure underlying brain activity were used to measure brain function on electroencephalograph , said cognitive psychologist Mark Kishiyama, one of the researchers.
KCBS' Rebecca Corral Reports
"This is a wake-up call," Robert Knight, director of the institute and a UC Berkeley professor of psychology said. "It's not just that these kids are poor and more likely to have health problems, but they might actually not be getting full brain development from the stressful and relatively impoverished environment associated with low socioeconomic status: fewer books, less reading, fewer games, fewer visits to museums."
Kishiyama and Knight suspect that the brain differences can be eliminated by proper training. They are collaborating with UC Berkeley neuroscientists who use games to improve the prefrontal cortex function, and thus the reasoning ability, of school-age children.
Photo from Lee Michael Perry/UC Berkeley
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