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Studies have shown that children from poor families have more difficulty in school than other boys and girls. Children with higher socioeconomic roots seem better prepared and perform better on school tests. Now, American researchers may have found a biological reason for that difference. They found differences in the brains of students who had low standardized test scores. Their brains had less gray matter and their temporal lobes developed more slowly than the other children. The findings were reported in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Temporal lobes and gray matter are very important brain areas, says researcher Barbara Wolfe. She is a professor of economics, population health and public affairs at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The brain areas are "critical in the sense that they keep developing until individuals are well into their adolescence or early 20s, and critical in the sense that they are important for executive function," she said.
* socioeconomic = 사회 경제적인/ roots(pl) = (사람의) 뿌리[근본]; 기원/ biological = 생물학의/ standardized test = 표준화 시험/ gray matter = (뇌, 척수의) 회백질/ temporal lobe = (대뇌의) 측두엽/ pediatrics = [단수 취급] 소아과(학)/ adolescence = 청소년기/ executive function = 실행[집행] 기능
Researchers studied brain images of nearly 400 children and young adults. The youngest subjects were four years old. The oldest were 22. Researchers looked for a connection between the person’s socioeconomic status and his or her test results. On average, young people from poor families had test scores between three and four points below what is expected for their age group. The poorest students scored between eight and 10 points below the developmental norm. Ms. Wolfe says there are several reasons why poorer students often have lower scores. One reason could be poor children do not get the food they need for healthy development. Poor parents are less likely to stimulate their children’s brains through talk, play, and activities. Ms. Wolfe also blames the "stress that parents face in trying to deal with poverty, putting food on the table."
* subject = 연구[실험] 대상, 피험자/ a connection between ~ = ~사이의 관계/ developmental = 발달과 관련된/ norm = 표준/ stimulate = 자극[격려]하다/ blame = ~책임[때문]으로 보다/ poverty = 가난, 빈곤/ put food on the table = 생활비를 벌다
