Cognitive and brain development is independently influenced by socioeconomic status and polygenic scores for educational attainment
Nicholas Judd, Bruno Sauce, John Wiedenhoeft, Jeshua Tromp, Bader Chaarani, Alexander Schliep, Betteke Maria van Noort, Jani Penttilä, Yvonne Grimmer, Corinna Insensee, Andreas Becker, Tobias Banaschewski, Arun L.W. Bokde, Erin Burke Quinlan, Sylvane Desrivières, Herta Flor, Antoine Grigis, Penny Gowland, Andreas Heinz, Bernd Ittermann, Jean‐Luc Martinot, Marie‐Laure Paillère Martinot, Éric Artiges, Frauke Nees, Dimitri Papadopoulos Orfanos, Tomáš Paus, Luise Poustka, Sarah Hohmann, Sabina Millenet, Juliane H. Fröhner, Michael N. Smolka, Henrik Walter, Robert Whelan, Günter Schumann, Hugh Garavan, Torkel Klingberg
Abstract
= 0.27) and had both common and independent associations with brain structure and cognition. Specifically, lower SES was related to less total cortical surface area and lower WM. EduYears-PGS was also related to total cortical surface area, but in addition had a regional association with surface area in the right parietal lobe, a region related to nonverbal cognitive functions, including mathematics, spatial cognition, and WM. SES, but not EduYears-PGS, was related to a change in total cortical surface area from age 14 to 19. This study demonstrates a regional association of EduYears-PGS and the independent prediction of SES with cognitive function and brain development. It suggests that the SES inequalities, in particular parental education, are related to global aspects of cortical development, and exert a persistent influence on brain development during adolescence.