宏觀經濟收入不平等、大腦結構和功能、以及心理健康

Macroeconomic Income Inequality, Brain Structure and Function, and Mental Health

——《自然/心理健康》第3卷第11期，2025年11月——

Volume 3, Issue 11, 7 Nov 2025

【摘要】收入不平等是社會結構性特徵之一，其特徵是資源分配不均，它與青少年時期（神經發育的關鍵時期）的不良心理健康結果相關。雖然以往的研究探討了個體層面的社會經濟因素對大腦結構和功能的影響，但將結構性不平等與心理健康差異聯繫起來的神經生物學機制仍知之甚少。本研究利用青少年大腦認知發展研究的數據，調查了美國17個州8000多名9-10歲兒童的大腦結構和功能連接性與各州收入不平等（以基尼係數衡量）之間的關聯。我們分析了全腦皮質厚度和表面積、體積以及特定區域的厚度和表面積指標，以及12個腦網絡內部和網絡間的功能連接性，並控制了若幹個體層面和州層面的混雜因素（例如收入、教育程度、州監禁率和醫療補助計劃擴展情況）。我們進行了中介分析，以檢驗腦部指標是否將收入不平等與6個月和18個月隨訪時的心理健康結果聯繫起來。結果顯示，較高的收入不平等與廣泛腦區皮質厚度和表面積的減少以及多個腦網絡間功能連接的改變相關。較低的皮質體積和表面積，以及默認模式網絡和背側注意網絡之間的連接性，在較高的結構性收入不平等與更嚴重的心理健康問題之間起中介作用。我們的研究結果表明，收入不平等是影響神經發育和心理健康的一個獨特的社會層面決定因素，且獨立於個人社會經濟地位。因此，需要制定旨在減少不平等和加強社會凝聚力的政策，以減輕其對神經生物學和心理健康的影響。 

[Abstract] Income inequality, a structural property of societies characterized by the unequal distribution of resources, is associated with adverse mental health outcomes during adolescence, which is a sensitive period of neurodevelopment. While previous research has explored the impact of individual-level socioeconomic factors on brain structure and function, the neurobiological mechanisms linking structural inequality to mental health disparities remain poorly understood. Here, using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, we investigated the associations between state-level income inequality, indexed by the Gini coefficient, and brain structure and functional connectivity in over 8,000 children aged 9–10 years (from 17 states in the USA). We analyzed whole-brain cortical thickness and surface area, and volume and region-specific measures of thickness and surface area, as well as functional connectivity within and between 12 brain networks, controlling for several individual-level and state-level confounders (for example, income, educational attainment, state-level incarceration rate and Medicaid expansion status). Mediation analyses were conducted to test whether brain metrics linked income inequality to mental health outcomes at 6-month and 18-month follow-ups. Higher income inequality was associated with reduced cortical thickness and surface area across widespread brain regions, as well as altered functional connectivity between multiple brain networks. Lower cortical volume and surface area, as well as connectivity between the default mode and dorsal attention networks, mediated the association between higher structural income inequality and greater mental health problems. Our findings reveal income inequality as a unique societal-level determinant of neurodevelopment and mental health, independent of individual socioeconomic status. Policies aimed at reducing inequality and strengthening social cohesion to mitigate its neurobiological and mental health impacts are needed. 

論文原文：Divyangana Rakesh, Dimitris I. Tsomokos, Teresa Vargas, Kate E. Pickett & Vikram Patel (2025). Macroeconomic income inequality, brain structure and function, and mental health. Nature / Mental Health, Volume 3, Issue 11, Pages 1318–1330, November 2025.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-025-00508-1

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