Covid lockdown affected the brain structure of adolescents, girls were more affected than boys
One study found that measuring the thickness of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain responsible for higher functions such as reasoning, could predict the brains of teenage boys by 1.4 years and girls by 4.2 years.
COVID-19 lockdowns, which included closing schools, canceling sports and conducting at-home practices, have accelerated the brain aging process in teens by up to four years, according to researchers at the University of Washington.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds evidence that disruptions in daily routines may increase behavioral problems, eating disorders, anxiety and depression in both boys and girls.
The university’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-Labs) began the study in 2018, using MRIs to track the brain development of 160 Seattle-area adolescents ages 9 to 19.
When lockdowns began in 2020, follow-up scans were postponed until 2021, allowing the focus to be on examining the impact of the pandemic on adolescents’ brain structure, said Patricia Kuhl, co-director of I-Labs and lead researcher.
By measuring the thickness of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain responsible for higher functions such as reasoning, they found that teenage boys’ brain age had increased by 1.4 years, while girls’ brain age had increased by 4.2 years.
The cortex naturally thins with age, but the three-year study showed much more thinning than expected.
“As we age, cortical thinning is associated with slower processing and less flexible thinking,” Kuhl said, noting that this accelerated aging process was seen in all of the teens.
The effect was more significant in girls, where thinning was found in 30 brain areas, while in boys it was limited to two areas of the occipital lobe, which controls distance perception, memory and face recognition.
Kuhl suggested that this difference may arise from how boys and girls rely on social contact. Boys often connect through physical activities such as sports, while girls rely more on personal relationships for emotional support and identity.
While the research doesn’t definitively prove that lockdown caused these brain changes, mental health problems in teens were already on the rise before the pandemic, it does suggest that cortical thinning may be linked to increased anxiety, depression and behavioural disorders.
However, experts believe that these effects will not be permanent if the youth’s social connections are improved.