Describe Farah's research on childhood poverty and cognitive neuroscience. What are the implications of her work?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The most profound effects of poverty are in kindergarteners are in the language and executive function systems. In first graders and in middle school students, there were striking SES disparities in language and executive function, as well as in declarative memory.
Language ability in middle school was predicted by the amount of cognitive stimulation they experienced as 4-year-olds—being read to, being taken on trips, and so on. In contrast, declarative memory ability in middle school was predicted by the quality of parental nurturance received as young children—being held close, being paid attention to, and so on. The latter finding might seem an odd association. Why would affectionate parenting have anything to do with memory? Yet research with animals shows that when a young animal is stressed the resulting stress hormones can damage the hippocampus, a brain area important for both stress regulation and memory. This research has also shown that more nurturing maternal behavior can buffer the young animal's hippocampus against the effects of stress. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the stressful environment of poverty affects hippocampal development, with additional help or hindrance from parenting. These findings suggest that reducing poverty and providing needed supports to the parents of infants and young children may have far-reaching impacts on their ability to function in and contribute to society.