How Poverty Changes the Brain

How Poverty Changes the Brain

Tara García Mathewson

You saw the pictures in science class—a profile view of the human brain, sectioned by function. The piece at the very front, right behind where a forehead would be if the brain were actually in someone’s head, is the pre-frontal cortex. It handles problem-solving, goal-setting, and task execution. And it works with the limbic system, which is connected and sits closer to the center of the brain. The limbic system processes emotions and triggers emotional responses, in part because of its storage of long-term memory.

When a person lives in poverty, a growing body of research suggests the limbic system is constantly sending fear and stress messages to the prefrontal cortex, which overloads its ability to solve problems, set goals, and complete tasks in the most efficient ways.

This happens to everyone at some point, regardless of social class. The overload can be prompted by any number of things, including an overly stressful day at work or a family emergency. People in poverty, however, have the added burden of ever-present stress. They are constantly struggling to make ends meet and often bracing themselves against class bias that adds extra strain or even trauma to their daily lives.

And the science is clear—when brain capacity is used up on these worries and fears, there simply isn’t as much bandwidth for other things.

How Poverty Changes the Brain

Tara García Mathewson

How are they defining poverty ? That's a 'wide' term (to define) and I'd be extremely sceptical that even undernourished children (which is of course a scandal) had inferior intellects. My own father was as impoverished as it's possible to be (going back to the 1920/30s) like millions of kids but their intellect wasn't defective. They did of course suffer from other physical problems of malnutrition which was disgraceful and led to the great reforms which many modern commenters (not you Sci) have forgotten about.

How Poverty Changes the Brain

Tara García Mathewson

I'm curious. Why did you post this article? It doesn't seem to me to relate to the brain-mind philosophical and other issues that have been occupying this forum, since this is just another way among a myriad already known for a long time by which physical damage, drugs, genetic factors, disease etc. etc. can change the brain and thereby affect consciousness. The transmission, transceiver, filter and other theories already well account for these facts while at the same time also account for the great body of empirical evidence for the ultimate independence of the mind from the physical brain.

I'm curious. Why did you post this article? It doesn't seem to me to relate to the brain-mind philosophical and other issues that have been occupying this forum, since this is just another way among a myriad already known for a long time by which physical damage, drugs, genetic factors, disease etc. etc. can change the brain and thereby affect consciousness. The transmission, transceiver, filter and other theories already well account for these facts while at the same time also account for the great body of empirical evidence for the ultimate independence of the mind from the physical brain.

It related to consciousness science?

Beyond that, no reason at all other than I thought people might find it interesting. I think most of the stuff I post in this particular forum is more related to diet/environment and how that affects the mind than stuff related to Psi, metaphysics, etc which I usually post elsewhere.