@article {1618469,
	title = {Neural mechanisms underlying the income-achievement gap: The role of the ventral visual stream},
	journal = {Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience},
	volume = {52},
	year = {2021},
	abstract = {Children from low-socioeconomic status (SES) households on average exhibit lower academic achievement than their higher-SES peers. We investigated a novel hypothesis that differences in early-developing sensory networks{\textemdash}specifically the ventral visual stream (VVS), which is involved in processing visual stimuli{\textemdash}contribute to SES-related disparities in executive functions (EF) and academic outcomes. We used fMRI to investigate SES-related differences in neural function in children (6{\textendash}8 years,\&nbsp;n\&nbsp;=\&nbsp;62) during two attentional tasks involving attention to visual information: cued attention and memory-guided attention. Recruitment of VVS during both tasks was associated with EF and academic achievement, and SES-related differences in VVS activation during cued attention were marginally explained by differences in cognitive stimulation. VVS activation during cued attention mediated SES-related differences in academic achievement. Finally, the link between VVS activation during both tasks and academic achievement was mediated by differences in EF. We extend previous work by highlighting that: (i) early-developing visual processing regions play a role in supporting complex attentional processes, (ii) childhood SES is associated with VVS function, which is explained in part by SES-related differences in cognitive stimulation and (iii) provide preliminary evidence that individual differences in VVS function may play a role in the emergence of the income-achievement gap.},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2021.101025},
	author = {ML Rosen and LA Lurie and KA Sambrook and AN Melzoff and KA McLaughlin}
}
