Poverty mars formation of infant brains Interventions to
counteract the damaging effects of poverty must include
something unique--raising the income level of the poor. Instead,
we institute programs which raise the income of consultants
giving advice to the poor. How earth-shattering would it be for
researchers and policy makers to decide that what people in
poverty need immediately is more money? Note that parents are
coached on how to reduce stress at home. Then the parents send
their kids to schools, with high-stress test prep. When will
researchers study what this type of schooling does to children's
neural development? By Clive Cookson Poverty in early childhood
poisons the brain, the American Association for the Advancement
of Science meeting in Boston heard on Friday. Neuroscientists
said many children growing up in very poor families with low
social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones,
which impair their neural development. That effect is on top of
any damage caused by inadequate nu