Developmental Science · 2004 · 1K citations · 85 references
Social SciencesHuman DevelopmentPsychologyChild DevelopmentCognitive DevelopmentDevelopmental PsychologyDevelopmental NeuropsychologyEarly ChildhoodExecutive FunctioningMiddle ChildhoodPediatric NeuropsychologyDevelopmental Cognitive FunctionDevelopmental Executive FunctionEarly Childhood ExperienceFamily Socioeconomic StatusNeurocognitive DeficitsNeurocognitive FunctioningNeurocognitive ProfilePediatric Executive Function
Socioeconomic status is strongly linked to childhood cognitive ability, yet the developmental links between SES and specific brain systems remain poorly understood. The study aimed to determine how childhood SES predicts variability in performance across distinct neurocognitive systems in kindergarteners. Researchers assessed five neurocognitive systems—visual, spatial, memory, language, and executive—using tasks from cognitive neuroscience literature. Low SES children performed worse on language and executive function systems, and language ability appeared to mediate the relationship between SES and executive function.
Abstract Socioeconomic status (SES) is strongly associated with cognitive ability and achievement during childhood and beyond. Little is known about the developmental relationships between SES and specific brain systems or their associated cognitive functions. In this study we assessed neurocognitive functioning of kindergarteners from different socioeconomic backgrounds, using tasks drawn from the cognitive neuroscience literature in order to determine how childhood SES predicts the normal variance in performance across different neurocognitive systems. Five neurocognitive systems were examined: the occipitotemporal/visual cognition system, the parietal/spatial cognition system, the medial temporal/memory system, the left perisylvian/language system, and the prefrontal/executive system. SES was disproportionately associated with the last two, with low SES children performing worse than middle SES children on most measures of these systems. Relations among language, executive function, SES and specific aspects of early childhood experience were explored, revealing intercorrelations and a seemingly predominant role of individual differences in language ability involved in SES associations with executive function.
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