Patterns of brain-wide associations reflect socioeconomics
- Scott Marek
- Meghan Rose Donohue
- Nicole R. Karcher
- Caroline P. Hoyniak
- Roselyne J. Chauvin
- Ashley C. Meyer
- John Miller
- Andrew N. Van
- Anxu Wang
- Noah J. Baden
- Vahdeta Suljic
- Kristen M. Scheidter
- Julia Monk
- Forrest I. Whiting
- Nadeshka J. Ramirez-Perez
- Samuel R. Krimmel
- Athanasia Metoki
- Sarah E. Paul
- Aaron J. Gorelik
- Timothy J. Hendrickson
- Stephen M. Malone
- Rebecca F. Schwarzlose
- Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez
- Megan M. Herting
- Steven E. Petersen
- Joan Luby
- Anita C. Randolph
- Michael J. Shanahan
- Eric Turkheimer
- Benjamin P. Kay
- Evan M. Gordon
- Timothy O. Laumann
- Deanna M. Barch
- Damien A. Fair
- Brenden Tervo-Clemmens
- Nico U. F. Dosenbach
2026-06-11
Previous brain-wide association studies (BWAS) have linked specific environmental and behavioral variables to brain variability. In this work, we mapped 649 variables to children’s brains and compared the resultant BWAS maps with each other and with neurobiological reference patterns. Socioeconomic status (SES) showed the strongest brain-wide associations. The SES associations were strongest in motor and sensory but not cognitive regions, a pattern shared across many BWAS maps, including intelligence quotient (IQ). A single, common BWAS brain pattern existed across variables that was most reflective of a child’s socioeconomics. Adjusting for SES weakened brain-IQ associations, eliminating the BWAS motor and sensory pattern. Brain-with-IQ associations also did not generalize when trained on higher-SES subsamples. Thus, children’s brains vary the most with SES, potentially through SES-dependent sleep deprivation and stress.