This study seems logical at first but then raises questions. Let me explain. The researchers found that growing up in neighbourhoods with more educational and socioeconomic opportunities can positively impact infants’ brain activity. At first, this seems logical, but when you start thinking about it, you may ask yourself if it’s not a cause of correlation.  Sadly enough, the study shows a link rather than a causal relationship, but the researchers suspect that local government can impact children’s development and learning. And I think I have to agree.

From the press release:

A team of early childhood researchers examined how neighborhood opportunity — the socioeconomic, educational, health, and environmental conditions relevant to child health and development — is associated with infant brain activity and cognitive development. The researchers found that infants in neighborhoods with more opportunities have greater brain function at six months of age. In areas with better educational opportunities, these brain differences are also related to better cognition at 12 months old.

“This study highlights that even in infancy, neighborhoods matter for child development. Our findings suggest that focusing on neighborhood opportunities, like increasing access to high-quality education, can promote child neurodevelopment,” said Mei Elansary, MD, MPhil, a developmental behavioral pediatrician at BMC and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

The researchers collected their data from 65 infants in community pediatric practices in the Boston and Los Angeles areas. The team examined whether associations between neighborhood opportunity and children’s cognitive development at 12 months of age could be explained by differences in brain activity at six months of age, measured by electroencephalography (EEG). Cognitive development was measured using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), a standardized play-based developmental assessment.

Elansary and colleagues found that higher levels of neighborhood opportunity are associated with greater absolute EEG power in mid-to high-frequency bands in six months old infants. These EEG measurements are related to better language and cognitive scores later in childhood, suggesting a neuroprotective role of living in higher opportunity neighborhoods early in life.

The team also found that higher levels of educational opportunity, specifically, are associated with better MSEL scores. This means that neighborhoods with more educational opportunities, like high quality center-based care, may provide more resources to get kids engaged in cognitively simulating activities and enhance their development.

“Prior work has focused on the role of socioeconomic disadvantages in child development. Our study aims to shift the conversation towards solutions for improving the environments that kids experience in early childhood to support their development and address inequalities,” says Elansary. “Given that race and ethnicity have been strongly associated with differential access to high opportunity neighborhoods, it is important to think about ways to promote access to these places for all families.”

Abstract of the study:

Background and objectives:
Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with lower neurocognitive scores and differences in brain structure among school-age children. Associations between positive neighborhood characteristics, infant brain activity, and cognitive development are underexplored. We examined direct and indirect associations between neighborhood opportunity, brain activity, and cognitive development.

Methods:
This longitudinal cohort study included infants from 2 primary care clinics in Boston and Los Angeles. Using a sample of 65 infants, we estimated path models to examine associations between neighborhood opportunity (measured by the Child Opportunity Index), infant electroencephalography (EEG) at 6 months, and infant cognitive development (measured using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning) at 12 months. A mediation model tested whether EEG power explained associations between neighborhood opportunity and infant cognition.

Results:
Neighborhood opportunity positively predicted infant absolute EEG power across multiple frequency bands: low(b = 0.12, 95% CI 0.01–0.24, p = 0.04, = 0.21); high (b = 0.11, 95% CI 0.01–0.21, p = 0.03,
= 0.23); (b = 0.10, 95% CI 0.00–0.19, p = 0.04, = 0.20); and (b = 0.12, 95% CI 0.02–0.22, p = 0.02, = 0.24). The results remained statistically significant after applying a Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate of 0.10 to adjust for multiple comparisons. No significant associations emerged between neighborhood opportunity, relative EEG power, and infant cognition. Mediation was not significant.

Conclusion:
Neighborhood opportunity is positively associated with some forms of infant brain activity, suggesting that positive neighborhood characteristics may play a salient role in early development.