A new study sheds light on how childhood adversity can affect the brain, and it specifically shows that racism and poverty can physically alter body development. this office.
Thousands of children’s MRI scans examined
The findings were recently published in American Journal of Psychiatryand it involved Harvard researchers examining MRI scans taken from thousands of children — 7,350 white children and 1,786 black children.
The participants were all between the ages of nine and ten, and the goal was to explore “the relationship between racial disparities in exposure to adversity and race-related differences in brain structure. “
In other words, they essentially wanted to see how the brains of black and white children might develop differently because of the different challenges they face in society.
Based on CNNThe researchers also note that they want to dispel the “folk belief that blacks and whites have completely different brains,” since any difference would actually stem from “the burden of burdened with the disproportionate life experience that everyone has.”
Study finds that trauma ‘may contribute to race-related differences in brain structure’
The researchers found that, on average, “Black children experience more traumatic events” than their white counterparts. Using MRI scans, they also found that Black children “show lower amygdala, hippocampus, and hippocampus.” [prefrontal cortex] gray matter volume compared with white children.”
For context, these parts of the brain are associated with emotion regulation, memory formation, and decision making, respectively.
As a result, they found that adverse experiences such as racism and poverty “may contribute to race-related differences in brain structure”.
Additionally, they note that the study “could provide insight” into “different rates of mental illness among blacks and whites in the United States.”
Notably, after revealing the findings, Dr. Nathaniel Harnett – assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard – said: CNN that the study shows why “large-scale structural and systemic change” is needed.
“The adversity these children face, it affects everyone, but it disproportionately burdens Black children in this case.”
What do you think of these findings?
