A new study has found that brain scans of children who come from low-income families are less developed compared to children from wealthier families. The study was conducted by researchers from University of Hawaii and University of California-San Diego.

According to researchers, during the study, they found that brains of children from poorer families have smaller brain surfaces and poorer cognitive performance. They also found that different parts of the brain that help in language, reading and spatial skills were less developed.

John A. Burns School of Medicine professors Linda Chang said that among children that come from low income families, small differences in income could be the reason of larger brain surfaces. To conduct the study, the researchers collected brain scans computerized cognitive assessments and genetic data from over 1,400 children. The age of the participants was between 3 to 20 years, according to the researchers.

Chang said, "We are grateful to the children and their families who participated in this study. The data will continue to allow many researchers across the United States and the world to address many questions related to brain development".

According to the researchers, larger brain surfaces indicate better development in brains. To conduct the study, Linda Chang and MR Physicist Thomas Ernst of the John A. Burns School of Medicine worked with researchers at the University of California-San Diego. In Hawaii, the researches took scans of more than 250 children by using an MRI scanner at The Queen's Medical Center dedicated to JABSOM research.

As per Chang, the study concluded that policies related to reducing poverty could have significant effects on cognitive development and brain functioning of children. As per the data collected by the researchers, 13% of children in Hawaii live in poverty.