Neurobiological pathways linking socioeconomic position and health

Psychosom Med. 2010 Jun;72(5):450-61. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181e1a23c. Epub 2010 May 24.

Abstract

Across individuals, risk for poor health varies inversely with socioeconomic position (SEP). The pathways by which SEP affects health have been viewed from many epidemiological perspectives. Central to these perspectives is the notion that socioeconomic health disparities arise from an interplay between nested, recursive, and cumulative environmental, social, familial, psychological, behavioral, and physiological processes that unfold over the life span. Epidemiological perspectives on socioeconomic health disparities, however, have not yet formally integrated emerging findings from neuropharmacological, molecular genetic, and neuroimaging studies demonstrating that indicators of SEP relate to patterns of brain neurotransmission, brain morphology, and brain functionality implicated in the etiology of chronic medical conditions and psychological disorders. Here, we survey these emerging findings and consider how future neurobiological studies in this area can enhance our understanding of the pathways by which different dimensions of SEP become embodied by the brain to influence health throughout life.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Brain / physiology*
  • Brain / physiopathology
  • Chronic Disease / epidemiology
  • Health Status Disparities*
  • Healthcare Disparities
  • Humans
  • Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid
  • Mental Disorders / epidemiology
  • Neurobiology / methods*
  • Neurobiology / statistics & numerical data
  • Research / statistics & numerical data
  • Research Design
  • Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / genetics
  • Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / physiology
  • Social Class*
  • Synaptic Transmission / genetics
  • Synaptic Transmission / physiology

Substances

  • Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
  • Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid