Effects of parental socioeconomic status on offspring’s fetal neurodevelopment
Emerging evidence underscores the prenatal period's critical role in shaping later cognition and health, influenced by an intricate interplay of parental genetic and environmental factors. Birth weight is commonly used as a retrospective indicator of fetal development, but recent focus has shifted to more specific proxies of neurodevelopment, like cortical sulcal patterns, which are established in utero and remain stable after birth. This study aimed to elucidate the interrelated effects of parental socioeconomic status, brain volume, birth weight, and sulcal patterns in the anterior cingulate cortex. Utilizing structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), parental educational attainment, and related polygenic risk scores, the study analyzed 203 healthy right-handed participants aged 9 to 18. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that the anterior cingulate cortex sulcal pattern is influenced by parental socioeconomic status and global brain volume, with socioeconomic status correlating with a polygenic risk score. These findings suggest that prenatal neurodevelopmental processes may mediate the intergenerational transmission of inequalities.
Authors
- Marine Moyon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5582-5929)
- Catherine Oppenheim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3410-0862)
- Émilie Salvia
- Lorna Le Stanc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2511-9070)
- Nicolas Poirel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3972-2575)
- Gabriela Rezende
- Boris Chaumette (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1313-2788)
- Arnaud Cachia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2125-4985)
- Grégoire Borst (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5815-3419)
- François Orliac
- Cloélia Tissier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0693-3202)
- Katell Mevel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2807-3407)
- Iris Menu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7587-2493)
- Lisa Delalande
- Mélanie Maximino-Pinheiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4860-3727)
- Qin He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5584-5385)
- Julie Vidal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7565-8087)
- Olivier Houdé
- Julia Mathan
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Inserm (FR)
- Institut Universitaire de France (FR)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Laboratoire de Psychologie du Développement et de L’Education de l’enfant (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne (FR)
- Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris (FR)
- Cyceron (FR)
- McGill University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cerebral Cortex
- Published
- 2024-11-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhae443
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Birth, Development, and Health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.22
Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale