title: Functional brain organization of working memory in adolescents varies in relation to family income and academic achievement.
abstract: Working memory (WM) capacity reflects executive functions associated with performance on a wide range of cognitive tasks and education outcomes, including mathematics achievement, and is associated with dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices. Here we asked if family income is associated with variation in the functional brain organization of WM capacity among adolescents, and whether that variation is associated with performance on a statewide test of academic achievement in mathematics. Participants were classified into higher-income and lower-income groups based on family income, and performed a WM task with a parametric manipulation of WM load (N-back task) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Behaviorally, the higher-income group had greater WM capacity and higher mathematics achievement scores. Neurally, the higher-income group showed greater activation as a function of WM load in bilateral prefrontal, parietal, and other regions, although the lower-income group exhibited greater activation at the lowest load. Both groups exhibited positive correlations between parietal activations and mathematics achievement scores, but only the higher-income group exhibited a positive correlation between prefrontal activations and mathematics scores. Most of these findings were maintained when higher- and lower-income groups were matched on WM task performance or nonverbal IQ. Findings indicate that the functional neural architecture of WM varies with family income and is associated with education measures of mathematics achievement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Amy S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Finn
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Minas
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Julia A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Allyson P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Mackey
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salvatore
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Calvin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goetz
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, USA.
authors.forename: Martin R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: West
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, USA.|Transforming Education/National Center on Time & Learning, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher F O
authors.initials: CFO
authors.lastname: Gabrieli
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.|Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, USA.
authors.forename: John D E
authors.initials: JDE
authors.lastname: Gabrieli
mesh_terms: D000076363:Academic Success; D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D056344:Executive Function; D005190:Family; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007182:Income; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D014706:Verbal Learning
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen