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Socioeconomic Status Drives Brain Development, Overriding IQ Link

6/12/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Researchers led by Nico Dosenbach reported that socioeconomic status dominates brain outcomes in children.
Analyzing MRI and behavioral data from about 12,000 U.S. children aged 9-10, the study found household income and zip-code resources explained 16 % of functional-connectivity and 13 % of cortical-thickness variance.
When socioeconomic status was controlled, the previously reported IQ-brain association vanished.
Machine-learning models predicted socioeconomic status more reliably than IQ, even using only low-SES data.

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Story summary

Researchers led by Nico Dosenbach reported that socioeconomic status dominates brain outcomes in children.
Analyzing MRI and behavioral data from about 12,000 U.S. children aged 9-10, the study found household income and zip-code resources explained 16 % of functional-connectivity and 13 % of cortical-thickness variance.
When socioeconomic status was controlled, the previously reported IQ-brain association vanished.
Machine-learning models predicted socioeconomic status more reliably than IQ, even using only low-SES data.