Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely aged adolescents' brains

The lockdowns implemented by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely aged the brains of adolescents. This was revealed by a new study conducted by the University of Washington.

The study explained that it is well documented that the situation occurred due to disruption of daily routines and social activities.

"The pandemic also resulted in unusually accelerated brain maturation in adolescents. This maturation was more pronounced in girls. When measured in terms of the number of years of accelerated brain development, the mean acceleration was 4.2 years in females and 1.4 years in males," the study explained.

In this regard, the university explained that brain maturation is measured by the thickness of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of brain tissue. It also indicated that the cerebral cortex naturally thins with age, even in adolescence.

"Chronic stress and adversity are known to accelerate cortical thinning, which is associated with an increased risk for the development of neuropsychiatric and behavioral disorders. Many of these disorders, such as anxiety and depression, often emerge during adolescence — with females at a higher risk," the analysis highlighted.

The study had been underway since 2018, but due to the pandemic it was delayed. Subsequently, using the original 2018 data, the researchers created a model of the expected cortical thinning during adolescence. They then re-examined the brains of the adolescents, more than 80% of whom returned for the second set of measurements.

"The teens’ brains showed a general effect of accelerated thinning across adolescence, but this was much more pronounced in females. The cortical thinning effects in females were seen all over the brain, in all lobes and both hemispheres. In males, the effects were only seen in the visual cortex," the experts note.

The analysis highlighted that the greater impact on female brains compared to male brains could be due to differences in the importance of social interaction for girls and boys.

"Teenagers under tremendous pressure. Then a global pandemic strikes and their normal channels of stress release are gone. Those release outlets aren’t there anymore, but the social criticisms and pressures remain because of social media. What the pandemic really seems to have done is to isolate girls. All teenagers got isolated, but girls suffered more. It affected their brains much more dramatically," said Patricia Kuhl, lead author and co-director of the university's Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences.