Research project co-led by Distinguished Professor Greg Duncan
​elicits national media interest

Principal investigators of an unprecedented research project, including UCI School of Education Distinguished Professor Greg Duncan, released a study demonstrating that after one year of monthly cash support for low-income families, one-year-olds exhibited brain activity patterns associated with the development of higher cognitive skills.
 
The research project, “Baby’s First Years”, is the first clinical trial in the United States to assess the impact of poverty reduction on family life and infant and toddlers’ cognitive, emotional and brain development. 

​“This study provides the first causal impact of a monthly unconditional cash transfer on child brain development for the infants of low-income women,” Duncan said. “Most of us on the team were expecting to see impacts after several years of the payments, but not necessarily as soon as one year ­­– it is very exciting to detect differences in brain functioning so quickly.”

​Read more about Duncan's work here. For a full list of media discussing the study, see below.

Distinguished Professor Greg Duncan