Income change alters default mode network connectivity for adolescents in poverty

• Published in: Developmental cognitive neuroscience Vol. 30; pp. 93 - 99
• Main Authors: Weissman, David G., Conger, Rand D., Robins, Richard W., Hastings, Paul D., Guyer, Amanda E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2018; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adversity; Brain; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Female; fMRI; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Original Research; Poverty - psychology; Resting state; Social Class; Socio-economic status; Youth; Adversity; Brain; fMRI; Socio-economic status; Youth; Resting state
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.01.008
• ISSN: 1878-9293; 1878-9307

•Adolescents from low income families demonstrated divergent patterns of connectivity depending on when they experienced the lowest income.•Adolescents from families with low but increasing income had greater connectivity within the default mode network.•Adolescents from families with low but increasing income also had greater connectivity between posterior cingulate and insula.•Increases in family income were also associated with greater connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex with several regions. Experiencing poverty during childhood and adolescence may affect brain function. However, income is dynamic, and studies have not addressed whether income change relates to brain function. In the present study, we investigated whether intrinsic functional connectivity of default mode network (DMN) regions was influenced by mean family income and family income change. Parents of 68 Mexican-origin adolescents (35 females) reported family income annually when adolescents were 10–16 years old. Intercept and slope of income at each of these ages were calculated for each participant. At age 16 years, adolescents completed a resting state functional neuroimaging scan. Adolescents from high and low income families did not differ in their functional connectivity, but for adolescents in families with lower incomes, their connectivity patterns depended on their income slope. Low-income adolescents whose income increased demonstrated greater connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), both DMN regions, and between the PCC and the right inferior frontal gyrus. Increases in income were associated with greater connectivity of the mPFC with the right inferior frontal gyrus and the left superior parietal lobule regardless of mean income. Increases in income, especially among adolescents in poverty, may alleviate stressors, influencing the development of brain networks.