Brain Changes Linked to Cognitive Symptomatology in Homeless Youth

Dawn Bounds, Mary A Woo, Adeline Nyamathi, Priscilla Kehoe, Bhaswati Roy, Kartik Yadav, Cristina Cabrera-Mino and Rajesh Kumar

Clinical Nursing Research, 2023, vol. 32, issue 6, 932-946

Abstract: Youth impacted by homelessness experience diminished cognition due to a variety of reasons including mental health symptoms, alcohol and substance use, and adverse childhood experiences. However, the status of specific brain regions which could impact important cognitive functions in homeless youth remains unclear. In this pilot comparative and correlational study, a series of demographic, psychological, cognitive assessments, and brain magnetic resonance imaging were performed in 10 male youth experiencing homelessness and 9 age-matched healthy male controls (age range: 18–25 years). Participants experiencing homelessness had significantly decreased regional brain gray matter tissue in comparison to the controls. Moreover, there were strong inverse correlations between the brain regions classically associated with executive decision-making (prefrontal cortices), depression (insular lobes), and conflict resolution (anterior cingulate), and the level of the symptoms detected by their questionnaires.

Keywords: adolescent; clinical research areas; mental health; psychology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:clnure:v:32:y:2023:i:6:p:932-946

DOI: 10.1177/10547738231168465

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