By Michael DePeau-Wilson, MedPageToday, February 1, 2023
Gray matter volume in key brain regions was lower in Black children compared with white children, likely due to disparities in childhood adversity, according to data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.
Among children ages 9 to 10 years, white kids showed greater gray matter volumes compared with Black kids in the amygdala, hippocampus, frontal pole, superior frontal gyrus, rostral anterior cingulate, pars opercularis, pars orbitalis, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, caudal middle frontal gyrus, and caudal anterior cingulate (all P<0.001), reported Nathaniel Harnett, PhD, director of the Neurobiology of Affective Traumatic Experiences Laboratory at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, and co-authors.
Compared with white children, Black children had experienced more traumatic events, material hardship, and family conflict and lived in more disadvantaged neighborhoods, while their parents/caregivers had lower income and educational attainment and were more likely to be unemployed, they noted in the American Journal of Psychiatryopens.
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