Effects of Poverty on Brain Development

Author: Isabelle Sutherland

The impacts of poverty extend beyond having your power turned off and being unable to afford rent. It affects the body internally, particularly in early brain development and cognitive ability. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has conducted numerous studies examining the development of the cerebral cortex in impoverished children, consistently finding a decrease in volume of gray matter compared to children from more financially secure households. Household eligibility for the federal poverty line is determined by family size and total income. In the United States, the average family typically has two children, with a mean federal poverty threshold of $21,250 per year for this family size (American Council on Aging, 2025). A cross-sectional study with 389 child participants found that those whose household’s income was 1.5 times above the federal poverty line had a 3-4% reduction in gray matter in the frontal cortex (related to higher level cognitive processes), temporal cortex (auditory and emotional processing), and the hippocampus (site of declarative and episodic memory). For children living at the federal poverty line, gray matter reductions were significantly greater, ranging from 8% to 9% (Hair et al., 2015). These results align with a study conducted by the NIH (Tomalski et al., 2013), which used electroencephalogram (EEG) technology to investigate baseline brain activity in the gamma frequency range (linked to higher-order executive functions) of 6- to 9-month-old infants from lower socioeconomic status families. The EEGs recorded lower high-frequency brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting potential disruptions in cognitive functions related to attention, decision-making, problem-solving, and emotional regulation as the infants mature (Tomalski et al., 2013). 

Reduced cortical mass in the brain is an equifinal event that cannot be restricted to socioeconomic status. Restriction of resources extended to the child, such as food resulting in poor nutrition, inadequate housing, and lack of access to healthcare can occur due to many factors and are not exhaustive in contributing to poor brain development. Excessive exposure to loud noises, regular chaos, and conflict among family members can serve as chronic stressors to a child causing the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Elevated levels of this hormone are associated with changes in the volume of the amygdala (a brain region responsible for processing fear and anxiety), as well as atrophy of the hippocampus and dendrites of pyramidal neurons critical to communication between the prefrontal cortex and numerous regions throughout the brain (Liston et al., 2006). Consequently, stress responses that hinder problem-solving and planning could potentially develop heightened reactivity and difficulties with attention and social cognition.

Poverty is a multifactorial issue, meaning there is not one solution to resolve it. However, there are actions that can counteract its negative effects. Positive parenting behaviors are attributed to lower cortisol levels in children and higher executive function. Despite the socioeconomic status of a child’s household, they are far more likely to be well-adjusted with a parent that offers warmth, affection, and emotional support. Screening children and their parents for mental health risks, followed with referrals to services is another way to reduce potential stress impact on a child. With the appropriate guidance, improvements in mental health and parenting styles can be achieved (Luby et al., 2018). Several studies have demonstrated that high-quality education can combat poor brain development (Luby et al., 2018) by significantly improving neurocognitive ability, regulation of attention, and the speed at which information is processed (Blair & Raver, 2015). One step in fighting poverty is to help parents build higher levels of human capital in order to increase their federal and state incomes so they can rise above the poverty line (Luby et al., 2018). America’s College Promise Act is a proposed bill that aims to drastically lower the cost of community, technical, and tribal colleges for lower-income adults (Granville, 2023). If passed through legislation, young parents could attend college and strengthen their earning potential to exit poverty and its associated stressors. By helping parents who are struggling financially to rise economically and deliver intentional parenting approaches, impoverished children can have greater opportunities for success, improving their developmental outcomes.  
References 
American Council on Aging. (2025). Federal poverty guidelines / levels for 2025 & their relevance to Medicaid eligibility. MedicaidPlanningAssistance.org. https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/federal-poverty-guidelines/. 
Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2015). Closing the achievement gap through modification of neurocognitive and neuroendocrine function: Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial of an innovative approach to the education of children in kindergarten. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(43), 13775–13780. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1512276112. 
Granville, P. (2023, October 17). How America’s College Promise would reshape the free college landscape. The Century Foundation. https://tcf.org/content/report/how-americas-college-promise-would-reshape-the-free-college-landscape/ 
Hair, N. L., Hanson, J. L., Wolfe, B. L., & Pollak, S. D. (2015). Association of child poverty, brain development, and academic achievement. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(9), 822–829. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.1475. 
Liston, C., Miller, M. M., Goldwater, D. S., & others. (2006). Stress-induced alterations in prefrontal cortical dendritic morphology predict selective impairments in perceptual attentional set-shifting. Journal of Neuroscience, 26(30), 7810–7818. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1245-06.2006 
Luby, J., Belden, A., Harms, M. P., Tillman, R., & Barch, D. (2018). Poverty, stress, and brain development: New directions for prevention and intervention. JAMA Pediatrics, 172(9), 810–811. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.1326. 
Tomalski, P., Moore, D. G., Ribeiro, H., & others. (2013). Socioeconomic status and functional brain development—Associations in early infancy. Developmental Science, 16(5), 676–687. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12079