What is it about?
Social disadvantage (e.g., insufficient financial resources, high social stressors) can be a major risk factor for developing children and is associated with altered trajectories of brain development. Yet, given the limited social mobility in the US, childhood social disadvantage is frequently preceded by maternal social disadvantage during pregnancy which may alter fetal brain development through factors that cross the placenta. This paper examines whether prenatal social disadvantage and the related exposures in utero are associated with alterations in the brain's functional network architecture at birth.
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Why is it important?
Our findings show that the association between social disadvantage and brain function begins in utero, with alterations distributed across brain networks and structures key to executive function and behavioral adaptation. This evidence suggests that policies and interventions to promote adaptive brain development in children should begin prenatally and underscores the importance of social supports for expectant parents that reduce exposures associated with social disadvantage.
Perspectives
Our group has now demonstrated that associations between social disadvantage and brain development are evident at birth across three modalities, including brain volumes, white matter microstructure, and functional network organization. Interventions that mitigate exposures associated with social disadvantage and increase access to social supports for expectant parents should be urgently considered as a key target to protect fetal brain development.
Ashley Nielsen
Washington University in Saint Louis
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Prenatal social disadvantage is associated with alterations in functional networks at birth, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, December 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2405448121.
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