The Effects of Poverty on Brain Development
Speaker: Ruth Rees Bilas
Poverty affects children physiologically and emotionally. A lack of nourishing food can decrease the size of the corpus callosum, the connecting bridge between the left and right hemisphere. Less surface area means that neurotransmitters are not transferred as quickly and easily as a brain with a normal size corpus callosum. Additionally, poverty causes stress, which increases the production of cortisol. This can cause brain damage, poor social skills, low verbal skills, aggression, anxiety, and dissociation.
Ruth Rees Bilas, is a special education teacher with Cecil County Public Schools. She has a bachelor's degree in German, with master's degrees in Reading/Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction, and Administration.
