A new study has found that the impact of COVID pandemic restrictions on teenagers' brains was 'alarming'.

Numerous studies have shown the negative effects of the pandemic on kids and teens, particularly academically, socially, and otherwise, and now the latest research suggests that the long-term effect may be accelerated aging of young brains.

Researchers at the University of Washington examined 160 teenagers aged 9 to 17 in 2018 for a study on adolescent brain structure changes. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their research.

Neva Corrigan, Ph.D., a research scientist at the University of Washington, stated in a press release that once the pandemic began, we considered which brain measures could help us determine the impact of the lockdown on the brain.

"How did our teens cope without being in their usual social settings, such as school, sports, or hanging out?"

Teenage brains are aging at a faster rate due to the pandemic, according to research findings.

According to Corrigan, the lifestyle changes brought about by COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns may have accelerated brain development during adolescence, resulting in the brain maturing at a faster rate than usual.

"Females experienced a more widespread and larger accelerated maturation in the brain compared to males."

According to research, the brains of young females aged 4.2 years faster than expected, while male brains were accelerated by 1.4 years.

Researchers discovered that compared to males, 30 regions in the female brain aged at a faster rate, with only two regions in the male brain showing similar signs of aging.

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published the findings on Sept. 9.

The stress of the restrictive measures taken to control COVID-19 may have caused the accelerated brain aging, according to Corrigan.

Previous research has established that the accelerated development of the cerebral cortex during development is linked to chronic stress.

Recommendations to parents

According to Corrigan, this study reveals that teenagers' brains are highly susceptible to environmental stressors, as shown in the research.

It is advised that parents of teenagers during the pandemic remain connected with their teens and be aware of signs of depression and anxiety, as accelerated cortical thinning increases the likelihood of developing these and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

"Parents should be aware that their teens' social lives are crucial for their brain development and should encourage healthy activities with peers."

It is not clear whether the accelerated aging will have long-term effects on continued brain development in teenagers, according to Corrigan.

The thickness of the cerebral cortex of these teens who exhibited accelerated maturation may not return to a more appropriate thickness for their age with time, or these effects may be permanent, according to what she told Planet Chronicle Digital.

"Cortical thinning," a natural process in aging, can actually enhance the brain's efficiency, she noted.

Corrigan stated that it is unclear if all the outcomes of accelerated maturation are detrimental.

Potential limitations

The study's smaller sample size was one of the limitations acknowledged by the researchers.

Corrigan stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that while they gathered data from 160 teens before the lockdowns and 130 teens after they ended, larger sample sizes are always preferable when conducting research.

"What did it mean for our teens to be at home rather than in their social groups — not at school, not playing sports, not hanging out?"

"Furthermore, because the research was not intended to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not gather the necessary behavioral data to identify the specific lifestyle changes or stressors related to lockdowns that had the greatest impact on the teens' stress levels," she stated.

The researchers' limited age range study didn't allow them to generalize their findings to other age groups.

Although we cannot confirm if the contraction of the COVID-19 virus itself may have influenced our findings, we discovered no evidence of a sex disparity in the contraction of the virus among the community from which our study sample was drawn, according to Corrigan.

‘Downrange effects’

A Florida neurologist, Dr. Brett Osborn, commented on the "detrimental consequences" of pandemic-related stress for teens, despite not being involved in the study.

Elevated cortisol levels, often linked to high stress, can cause damage to the brain, as stated by him to Planet Chronicle Digital.

The primary stress hormone, cortisol, is typically released by the adrenal glands during acute stress. However, prolonged high levels of cortisol can be harmful to the body.

"The persistent high state is detrimental to brain regions such as the hippocampus, which is linked to memory, and the prefrontal cortex, which controls higher-level cognitive functions like decision-making and social behavior."

"While the pandemic is over, this is not the end."

High cortisol levels can harm memory, emotional regulation, impulse control, focus, and concentration over time, as stated by Osborn.

High cortisol levels may increase the likelihood of developing depression and anxiety over time, according to him.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has another downrange effect, according to Osborn, as revealed by the study.

Although the pandemic has ended, this is not the conclusion.