When a person lives in a poor family, a growing body of research suggests the limbic (边缘的) system is constantly sending fear and stress messages to the prefrontal cortex (前额皮层), which overloads (使超载) its ability to solve problems, set goals, and complete tasks. The overload can be caused by anything, including an extremely stressful day at work or a family emergency.

It is believed that brain capacity (容量) is relatively fixed. And the science is clear—when brain capacity is used up on these worries and fears, there simply isn’t as much room for other things. Elisabeth Babcock, the president and CEO of EMPath, said poor people tend to get stuck in the cycles where stress leads to bad decision-making, thus causing other problems and bringing about the idea that they can’t improve their own lives. Maybe we can help them earn more money, or establish a sense of control over their own lives.

It’s true that the constant stresses of poverty（贫困） actually changes people’s brains. Race, the Deputy Director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, says children who grow up in and remain in poverty are doubly affected. But the sections of the brain in question are also known to be particularly “plastic”, Race said, which means they can be strengthened and improved well into adulthood.

“It’s going to enable them to understand that they can make a change,” “that things don’t have to be in a certain way if they are not happy.” Poverty can’t help people develop this sense of control over one’s own life, but we can use an understanding of the human brain to bring about lasting change.