A Drop in Income Might Scramble Your Brain

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 6, 2:18AM EST · Published Oct 3, 8:00AM EDT

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A Drop in Income Might Scramble Your Brain — © Popartic / iStock

That experiencing a decline in income might upset somebody is a no-brainer, but new research from the American Academy of Neurology suggests that it might literally affect the brain in negative ways.

According to a paper called “Relation between 20-year income volatility and brain health in midlife,” published Wednesday in Neurology, the academy’s journal, new research shows that “Higher income volatility and more income drops [are]…associated with worse microstructural integrity of total brain and total white matter.”

In non-scientific terms, this means that those who experienced the most significant declines and overall changes in income in the group studied (adults 23 to 35 years old, considered to be in their peak earning years) scored more poorly on a variety of thinking and memory tests when they grew older than those whose income remained stable. The lower-scoring group also took longer to complete some tasks and showed reduced connectivity between different areas of the brain.

In other words, if someone’s income drops or fluctuates noticeably at a younger age, his or her brain functions may suffer later.

The study involved a racially diverse population of some 3,287 people enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) program supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The results remained the same after researchers adjusted for various factors known to affect cognitive skills, including high blood pressure, education level and physical activity.

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Though the study followed subjects through the years of the recession in the late 2000s, incomes are still declining in some parts of the country. These are 10 cities where incomes are shrinking the fastest.

There are several possible explanations for the relationship between financial problems and brain health, according to study author Leslie Grasset, Ph.D., of the Inserm Research Center in Bordeaux. For instance, Grasset said, “[P]eople with lower or unstable income may have reduced access to high quality health care which may result in worse management of diseases like diabetes, or management of unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and drinking.”

In addition, it is well-established that stress and other things can lead to memory loss and brain shrinkage.
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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.