Developmental and environmental influences on memory systems

Children with low socioeconomic status consistently show reduced memory ability and smaller hippocampal volumes. These findings have motivated a theory that the hippocampus underlies income-related cognitive gaps. However, income-related differences in hippocampal structure do not seems to mediate cognitive gaps, possibly because past studies do not distinguish between anterior and posterior hippocampus. We investigate anterior and posterior hippocampal volumes in children and adolescents from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.