Table 2.
Infancy/childhood studies
| Study | Total N (Females) | Mean age (age range/SD) | SES measure | Imaging measure | Key Findings | Lower/higher in low-SES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betancourt et al. (2016) [49] | 44 (25 low-SES, 19 high-SES), African American, 100%F | 5 ± 0.9 weeks | Composite SES (based on maternal education and income-to-needs) | Cortical gray, deep gray, and white matter volumes | Low SES infants had lower cortical gray matter and deep gray matter volume than high SES infants | Lower |
| Hanson et al. (2013) [31] | 77 (40%F) | 13.7 months (5 months to 4 years) | Household income | Total GMV and lobal volumes, white matter volume, total cerebral volume | Low SES toddlers had lower total, frontal, and parietal volume than high SES toddlers | Lower |
| Jha et al. (2019) [53] | 805 (47%F) | 30.6 days (6- to 144-days post birth) | Paternal and maternal education, income | Cortical thickness and surface area (average and regional) | Low paternal education was associated with higher average cortical thickness and thickness of some frontal and temporal regions (while adjusting for global brain size and ethnicity) | Higher |
| Knickmeyer et al. (2017) [50] | 756 (47%F) | 8-12 months | Maternal and paternal education and income | Total GM and WM | High paternal education was associated with higher gray matter and white matter volume (partially mediated through birth weight) | Lower |
| Spann et al. (2020) [52] | 37 (35%F) | 1-6 weeks | Hollingshead (education and occupation) | Volume | Infants born to mothers with lower SES had larger local volumes in the bilateral superior and middle occipital gyri, right middle frontal, and temporal pole, left inferior frontal and anterior cingulate regions. Low SES was associated with lower volumes in the frontoparietal region and the inferior temporal region. | Mixed |
| Triplett et al. (2022) [51] | 280 (47%F) | First weeks of life | Socioeconomic disadvantage: factor analysis of health insurance status, highest educational level, income-to-needs ratio, national Area Deprivation Index percentile at birth, and Healthy Eating Index. | Cortical and subcortical gray matter, white matter, and cerebellum volume, hippocampus and amygdala volume | Neonates born to mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds had lower cortical and subcortical gray matter volume and lower white matter volume | Lower |
| Qiu et al. (2017) [139] | 168 (44%F) | Mean post-conception age at scan 40 weeks | Household income | Subcortical volume and cortical thickness (whole brain) | Neonates with genetic profiles associated with heightened risk for developing depression showed a negative relationship between their family income and right amygdala and hippocampal volumes, whereas those with low genetic risk profiles showed no such association | Higher (only in those with high genetic risk for MDD) |
Abbreviations: GM = gray matter, GMV = gray matter volume, SES = socioeconomic status, WM = white matter