A burgeoning literature has recently begun investigating the links between socioeconomic inequality and the developing brain. This work suggests widespread disparities in both brain structure and function that begin as early as the first year of life. Here, we review disparities in neural structure that have been reported in both cortical and subcortical gray matter, as well as in white matter. Disparities in brain function have also been reported, particularly in circuits that support language, memory, executive functioning, and emotion processing. We additionally review recent work investigating the mechanisms that underlie socioeconomic disparities in brain development. Taken together, this work has the potential to identify important targets for intervention in policy and practice.

最近，新兴文献开始研究社会经济不平等与大脑发育之间的联系。这项研究表明，大脑结构和功能的广泛差异早在生命的第一年就开始了。在这里，我们回顾了皮质和皮质下灰质以及白质中所报道的神经结构的差异。大脑功能的差异也有报道，特别是在支持语言、记忆、执行功能和情绪处理的回路中。我们还回顾了最近研究大脑发育社会经济差异背后机制的工作。总而言之，这项工作有可能确定政策和实践干预的重要目标。