Having rich parents doesn ’ t just buy an expensive education and exciting holidays abroad . It may also purchase more brainpower . A study found the children from wealthy families have bigger brains than their poorer counterparts . Los Angeles researchers say being wealthy boosts brainpower . Their study found that money was important to a young mind . Parental income was found to be more important than their education . Shown is a picture of Angelina Jolie , Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt and Brad Pitt . Brain regions key to academic success were particularly large , the journal Nature Neuroscience reports . Interestingly , the study also revealed that money matters more than parental background when it comes to nourishing the young mind . In one of the first studies of its kind , the US researchers put more than 1,000 healthy children and teenagers through brain scanners and quizzed their parents on their background and income . Richer people live further away from their parents than those on modest wages , a study in December 2014 claimed . The report found workers earning less than £25,000 ( $ 37,000 ) live within 31 miles ( 50km ) of their family , but this distance grows the wealthier people become . Britons who earn £35,000 to £45,000 ( $ 52,000 to $ 67,000 ) live 42 miles ( 68km ) away while those earning more than £55,000 ( $ 81,000 ) live 47 miles ( 76km ) away . Annuities firm Partnership said this was because high-earning professionals were more likely to have moved away from where they grew up to secure a lucrative career . The study also found people in their 50s live closest to their ageing parents , but later move farther away to be near their own children and grandchildren . While people in their 40s lived 37 miles ( 60km ) away , on average , this reduced to 33 miles ( 53km ) as people reached their early 50s . The youngsters , who were between three and 20 years old , also did tests of memory and something called executive function . This term covers the mental skills that are used to weigh up options , prioritise , multi-task and plan ahead . Children with poor executive function may struggle to memorise information and be more likely to get into fights . Analysis showed important brain areas to be bigger in children whose parents had been to university than those whose education had finished when they left school . However , parental income was even more important . Brain areas key to language and executive function were bigger in children from wealthier families . These youngsters also did better in the mental tests . Researcher Dr Elizabeth Sowell , of the Children ’ s Hospital Los Angeles , said : ‘ Our data suggest that wider access to resources likely afforded by the more affluent may lead to differences in a child ’ s brain structure . ‘ Access to higher-quality childcare , more cognitively stimulating materials in the home and opportunities for learning outside the home likely account for some of these effects. ’ Analysis showed important brain areas to be bigger in children whose parents had been to university than those whose education had finished when they left school . However , parental income was even more important , perhaps because the children had better living conditions ( stock image shown ) She said that growing up in a household that is free of the stress of struggling to make ends meet is also likely to foster brain development . The link between income and brain structure were particularly noticeable among the most deprived children , with small differences in salary having a relatively big effect on the brain . It is thought this is because a slight increase in income makes a bigger difference to living conditions to someone on a low wage than to someone who is already well provided for . Researcher Dr Kimberley Noble , of Columbia University in New York , said that despite the clear impact of socio-economic status on the young mind , it would be wrong to think that the changes are fixed . She said : ‘ This is the critical point . The brain is the product of both genetics and experience and experience is particularly powerful in moulding brain development in childhood . ‘ This suggests that interventions to improve socioeconomic circumstance , family life and/or educational opportunity can make a vast difference . ’
Los Angeles researchers say being wealthy boosts brainpower . Their study found that money was important to a young mind . Parental income was found to be more important than their education . This is thought to be due to a difference in living conditions .