Meaning This study demonstrates the causal impact of a poverty reduction intervention on early childhood brain activity. Data from the Baby’s First Years study , a randomized control trial, show that a predictable monthly unconditional cash transfer given to low-income families can have a causal impact on infant brain activity. In the context of greater economic resources, children’s experiences changed and their brain activity adapted to those experiences. The resulting patterns of brain activity have been shown to be associated with the development of later cognitive skills. |
Early childhood poverty has long been associated with lower school performance, educational attainment, and adult income. Furthermore, from early childhood through adolescence, higher family income tends to be associated with higher scores on assessments of language, memory, self-regulation, and social-emotional processing.
Furthermore, poverty has been correlated with the structural development and functional activity of brain regions that support these abilities. For example, higher family income is associated with a larger surface area of the cerebral cortex, particularly in regions that support children’s language and executive functioning.
This association is stronger among more economically disadvantaged families, suggesting that a given increase in family income may be related to greater differences in brain structure among economically disadvantaged children compared to their more advantaged peers.
Economic disadvantage has also been associated with differences in brain electrical activity, a key aspect of brain function measured by electroencephalography (EEG). The EEG measures brain activity in two main dimensions: frequency and power. "Frequency" refers to oscillatory brain activity that occurs throughout the brain at different rates.
Summary
Early childhood poverty is a risk factor for poor school performance, reduced income, and poorer health, and has been associated with differences in brain structure and function. It is not yet clear whether poverty causes differences in neurodevelopment or is simply associated with factors that cause such differences. Here, we report estimates of the causal impact of a poverty reduction intervention on brain activity in the first year of life.
We obtain data from a subsample of the Baby’s First Years study, which recruited 1,000 diverse, low-income mother-child dyads.
Shortly after giving birth, mothers were randomly assigned to receive a large or nominal monthly unconditional cash gift. Infant brain activity was assessed at approximately one year of age in the child’s home using resting electroencephalography (EEG; n=435).
We hypothesized that infants in the high-money gift group would have increased EEG power in the mid- to high-frequency bands and reduced power in a low-frequency band compared to infants in the low-money gift group.
In fact, babies in the cash gift group showed more power in the high frequency bands. Effect sizes were similar in magnitude to many scalable educational interventions, although the significance of the estimates varied with analytic specification.
In summary , using a rigorous randomized design, we provide evidence that giving monthly unconditional cash transfers to mothers living in poverty during the first year of their children’s lives can change the babies’ brain activity. These changes reflect neuroplasticity and environmental adaptation and show a pattern that has been associated with the development of later cognitive abilities.
Discussion
While family income has been found to be associated with developmental differences in children’s brain structure and function, there is considerable debate about whether growing up in poverty causes differences in early brain development, or whether poverty simply It correlates with other factors that are the true cause of early differences.
Here, using a randomized control trial design, we provide evidence on this correlation versus causation debate by showing that an intervention designed to reduce poverty appeared to cause changes in children’s brain functioning in ways that have been linked to cognitive abilities. posterior superiors.
Specifically, infants whose mothers were randomized at birth to receive a large monthly unconditional cash transfer showed greater mid- to high-frequency absolute EEG power in the alpha, beta, and gamma bands (effect sizes = 0. 17 to 0.26), compared to infants whose mothers were randomly assigned to receive a nominal monthly unconditional cash transfer.
In contrast, our findings do not provide consistent support for the hypothesis that the high cash gift group would show less low-frequency power in the theta band.
The present results suggest that providing unconditional monthly cash support to families living in poverty may affect early childhood brain activity, highlighting the importance of focusing children’s development and well-being at the forefront of policy considerations. .
However, while it may be tempting to draw policy conclusions, we caution that the present findings refer only to the first 12 months of a multi-year unconditional cash transfer intervention. Recent legislation and policy proposals provide income supplements to low-income families in the form of Child Tax Credit payments with higher payments in early childhood, but none would limit assistance to the first year of life.
For our part, we do not suggest that a 12-month intervention alone is likely to have lasting effects, nor that cash transfer policies eliminate the need for direct service interventions, such as pediatric well-child visits, home visits, or child care. intensive.
However, by focusing on families during children’s early years, BFY has found important evidence of the effects of rising income during a time when children’s brains are particularly sensitive to experience.
Traditionally, debates about income transfer policies targeting low-income families in the United States have focused on maternal labor supply rather than child well-being. Our findings underscore the importance of shifting the conversation to focus more attention on whether and how income transfer policies promote child development.
