This study will investigate how childhood poverty, maltreatment, and violence influence adult brain function and morphology, as well as exploring underlying mechanisms that may account for developmental brain effects.
Specific aims of this study are:
1. To determine how childhood poverty, maltreatment & violence influence adult brain function & morphology.
2. To investigate underlying mechanisms that might account for the developmental brain effects of poverty.
We hypothesize that chronic physiological stress dysregulation (elevated allostatic load) as well as harsh or unresponsive parenting during childhood, including maltreatment and violence will account for some of the expected linkages between childhood poverty and adult brain structure and function.