Source: https://www.pkuanvil.com/topic/841/吃苦果然有害
The original text is a review that introduces a series of related studies; even a layperson can get the gist using translation software. If interested, you can read the original directly: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-024-02556-y#Sec10
Recently, an article in Molecular Psychiatry, a sub‑journal of Nature, pointed out that hardship, especially early‑life hardship, has various adverse effects on brain development and personal behavior. The brain is plastic. When facing adversity (including various difficulties and harsh natural environments), the nervous, metabolic and other physiological regulatory systems produce a range of physiological responses to adapt. If adversity is endured for a long time or repeatedly, these responses gradually accumulate, forming a “stress load” that can largely lead to mental and physical illnesses.
To understand the impact of adversity on the brain, the researchers collected literature data from January 1 2010 to April 8 2023, focusing especially on samples from the general population cohort, to comprehensively assess changes in brain structure and function after adverse life events. They analyzed the effects of various forms of adversity—including abuse, institutional care, bullying, loneliness, poverty, family conflict, and environmental pollution.
The study found that, compared with peers from affluent backgrounds, children living in poverty are more likely to experience developmental delays, lower cognitive and academic performance, and a higher probability of emotional and behavioral problems. Whole‑brain structural analyses showed that higher wealth and social status are associated with better overall brain metrics such as cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and gray‑matter volume; conversely, lower wealth and status correspond to reduced gray‑matter volume in specific regions such as the amygdala, hippocampus, striatum, and thalamus. The development of these regions is linked to language processing, reading skills, visuospatial abilities, decision‑making, and executive functions, and these effects can persist for up to 20 years.