Teen Brains "Aged" During Covid Lockdowns, Girls Especially Affected By Isolation

The lockdowns not only ruined small businesses and heightened depression among the isolated, but a new study also reveals they accelerated the aging of teenagers' brains by several years – and young girls were the most negatively affected.

Researchers from the University of Washington discovered that the draconian measures – from school closures to canceled sports and staying home – accelerated the aging of adolescent brains by as much as four years.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealed that changes may have altered the structure of teen brains, particularly affecting girls more than boys. Lead researcher Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), said they initially set out to study normal brain development in teens. But when the lockdowns hit, the focus had to change, and they turned to investigating how this period of isolation affected adolescent brain structure.

The brain's cortex naturally thins as we age, but this study found that teen brains were thinning at an accelerated rate due to the stress of lockdown. For girls, the aging process was particularly pronounced, about 4.2 years’ worth, compared to 1.4 years in boys.

The effect has been dubbed "pandemic brain." The question is, how does this affect teens? “As we age, the thinning of the cortex is associated with less fast-processing time, with less flexible thinking, with all of the things that we associate with aging,” Kuhl told NBC News. “All of the teens in general showed this accelerated aging.” This could also explain the rise of behavioral problems seen in teens, such as eating disorders, anxiety, and depression.

The study suggests that girls were more affected than boys due to the lack of social interaction. "When girls and women are stressed, there is a natural response to get together and talk about it, releasing neurotransmitters that make us feel better," explained Dr. Ellen Rome from Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital. With social connections severely limited during lockdowns, many teen girls missed out on emotional support. On the other hand, boys tend to engage in more physical activities, like sports or video games, to blow off steam.

It's still unclear whether these "pandemic brains" could be more susceptible to disorders like ADHD, depression, or even neurodegenerative diseases later in life. Either way, we can't ignore the damage done by lockdowns. Dr. Jonathan Posner of Duke University says, "The teenage years are hugely important for social development. If you don’t have those interactions, you miss key opportunities for social learning."

The findings are grim, but Posner believes that teens are resilient. Dr. Posner added, "We can help them catch up, but we can’t pretend this had no impact.

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