CCN Forum-Socioeconomic status and inhibitory control: Neural and environmental mechanisms

Brief description: Inhibitory control ability in childhood is related to broad life outcomes in adulthood, even above and beyond IQ. On average, children from low-SES backgrounds are known to perform worse on inhibitory control tasks than their high-SES peers before beginning kindergarten. The mechanisms underlying this SES-related difference are largely unknown. This question is further complicated by the issue of defining "SES"; while there is some evidence that traditional SES variables like family income or maternal education could be driving this effect, it is also possible that more downstream effects of SES, such as living in a disadvantaged neighborhood, are important as well. This presentation will focus on preliminary data from the Michigan Twins Neurogenetics Study (MTwiNS) study, which utilizes recruitment methods that oversample for neighborhood disadvantage. This presentation will explore the mechanisms underlying the relationship between SES and inhibitory control. In particular, it will focus on an investigation of the relationships between a behavioral inhibitory control measure, a neural inhibitory control measure, and different SES-related variables.