How do environmental factors affect cognition?

Environmental factors can have a powerful effect on the development of critical cognitive skills. One such skill is statistical learning, which refers to children’s ability to implicitly learn patterns in their environment. In this study, Dr. Leyla Eghbalzad investigated how socioeconomic status (SES) – an important indicator of environmental quality – affects the brain regions used for statistical learning.

232 children between the ages of 5 and 12 underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which can reveal the volume of brain regions. SES – measured as parental education level and household income – did not influence the volume of sensory brain regions. However, a low parental education level was associated with decreased volume in the caudate nucleus. This brain region is not only critical for statistical learning but for other cognitive functions like impulse control and emotional regulation.

These results help clarify how childhood adversity can shape neural networks and, by extension, cognitive function.

Dr. Eghbalzad will present her research on Friday, March 18th at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) conference as part of a symposium focused on environmental deprivation impacts cognitive development.