Researchers found that increased stressors like economic hardship and systemic racism play a significant role for Black children and can lead to the development of mental health issues as they age, the study said.
The stressors contribute to Black children having less gray matter in their brains, a byproduct of absorbing "toxic stress." The study defines the stressors as "prolonged exposure to adverse experiences" that lead to excessive stress hormones and "disrupt the immune and metabolic regulatory systems."
Nathaniel Harnett, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School who led the study, told CNN their analysis sought to examine how early the effects of structural inequities and racism would appear in brain development. Harnett said his team began exploring a cognitive development study to dispel "this kind of folk belief that Black and White people have categorically different brains.
Researchers said Black children are much more likely to be exposed to violence, live in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and combat systemic racism daily than White children. They also are exposed to those factors at an earlier age, the study said.
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