The Importance of the Environment as a Driver of Knowledge: Does Socio-Economic Status Matter?

Brain plasticity or brain reorganization is important for satisfactory cognitive activity, in which the learning process can guarantee the skills needed for full personal development. Socioeconomic status, which presents the social reality of the individual, such as educational level, income, health and neighborhood, is an important factor for learning and the anatomical characteristics of the brain to function normally. Our aim, through a narrative review, was to update the current state of the art, and in this way we carried out a wide-ranging study that discusses SES and cognition, in order to show that SES has a positive impact on learning when social conditions are favorable and a negative influence, both on brain structure and on the learning process, when social conditions are not favorable. In view of this, it is necessary to think about strategies that enable equal opportunities in the learning environment and public policies that can remedy inequalities and boost knowledge.