UC Merced

Although previous research demonstrated socioeconomic status (SES) differences in the neurodevelopment of auditory systems throughout childhood, it remains unclear whether such differences persist into adulthood, especially in the absence of attentional or language demands. Here, we administered a passive auditory oddball paradigm with tones to 73 young adults from diverse childhood socioeconomic backgrounds to examine the mismatch negativity (MMN) event related potential (ERP) component as a neural index of auditory perception. As subjective ratings of childhood social status may reflect experiences not fully captured by objective childhood SES, we asked participants about both the highest level of parent education (i.e., objective childhood SES) and their subjective family social status when they were 10 years old. We did not find any links between childhood parent education or subjective family social status and MMN amplitude or latency in adulthood. This research contributes to our understanding of how childhood SES relates to auditory perception, a foundational building block for the auditory system, in young adults.