Childhood experiences form the white matter of the brain

According to RCO News Agency, White is a brain communication highway that allows brain networks to perform the functions needed for recognition and behavior. They grow during childhood, and childhood experiences may cause individual differences in how white matter is matured. The main author of this study, Sofia Carozza and its senior author, wanted to find out what the process played in adolescence after children reach adolescence.

“The aspects of white matter that show a relationship with the basic environment of our lives are much more pervasive than we thought throughout the brain,” says Caruza. Instead of only one or two important parts of cognition, the whole brain relates to the disadvantages that a person may experience early in life.

The group studied the data of 4 children, about half of which were girls, with an average age of 1.5 years, collected in the cognitive development of adolescent brain (ABCD). The study, financed by the National Institute of Health and conducted at four centers across the United States, gathered information on brain activity and structure, cognitive abilities, environment, mood and mental health. Researchers examined several categories of primary environmental factors, including pregnancy risk factors, interpersonal disadvantages, household economic deprivation, residence and social resilience.

The researchers used brain scanning as a way to estimate the integrity of white matter joints and simplify their counting and estimation. They then used a computational model to compare how these white matter characteristics relate to environmental factors and current cognitive abilities such as linguistic skills and mental computing.

Their analysis showed widespread differences in white matter connections throughout the brain depending on the basic environments of children’s lives. In particular, the researchers found a lower quality of white matter joints in parts of the brain that are related to mental calculations. These differences in white matter show the relationship between adverse life experiences in early childhood and lower cognitive functioning in adolescence.

“We are all in one environment, and the characteristics of that environment, such as our relationships, neighborhoods, or material conditions, can shape our brain and body growth, which in turn affects what we can do with them,” Caruza says. We need to strive to make sure that more people can have the stable and healthy life that the brain expects, especially in childhood.

Researchers point out that their study is based on observational data, meaning that they cannot have a strong causal conclusion. Brain imaging was only available at one point and provided an instant photo, but did not allow researchers to track changes over time. Studies in the future to pursue children over time and collect brain imaging information at a few points of time to find a more definitive relationship.

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