Children’s cognitive abilities and school achievements are deeply affected by parental socioeconomic status (SES).
Numerous studies have reported lower cognitive performance in relation to unfavorable environments, but little is known
about the effects of SES on the child’s neural structures. Here, we systematically explore the association between SES and
brain anatomy through MRI in a group of 23 healthy 10-year-old children with a wide range of parental SES. We confirm
behaviorally that language is one of the cognitive domains most affected by SES. Furthermore, we observe widespread
modifications in children’s brain structure. A lower SES is associated with smaller volumes of gray matter in bilateral
hippocampi, middle temporal gyri, left fusiform and right inferior occipito-temporal gyri, according to both volume- and
surface-based morphometry. Moreover, we identify local gyrification effects in anterior frontal regions, supportive of a
potential developmental lag in lower SES children. In contrast, we found no significant association between SES and white
matter architecture. These findings point to the potential neural mediators of the link between unfavourable environmental
conditions and cognitive skills.