It is more or less established that the pandemic has been psychologically difficult for many. Perhaps worst for the young. Now a new study from the US shows how bad the mental toll may have been. Scientists have seen that the brains of teenagers have changed within a short time. The stress and loneliness that many have felt has led to a form of aging of young brains. Similar changes have previously been seen in children exposed to violence or failure in the home. – We know that the pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of young people. But we didn’t know that this would have physical effects on the brain, says Ian Gotlieb in a press release. He is a professor and author of the new study. ‘Older’ teenage brains found Our brains naturally change as we age. During puberty, both the hippocampus and the amygdala increase in size. These are areas that, among other things, control memories and emotions. By studying images of the brains of teenagers, which were taken both before and during the pandemic, the researchers found differences in these areas. The first surveys were carried out in 2016, while the last were carried out in 2022. The study took into account, among other things, inequality in gender, age, puberty, ethnicity and socio-economic status among the participants. Nevertheless, the results showed that brain aging among the children scanned during the pandemic had progressed faster. In less than a year, these teenage brains had become three years “older”. The red spot marks the amygdala. It is a collection of nerve cell bodies at the base of the cerebrum’s temporal lobe. Photo: Amber Rieder, Jenna Traynor, Geoffrey B Hall, Creative Commons Don’t know what might happen The researchers also noticed that the mental health of the group studied during the pandemic was worse compared to the other participants. They are still not sure that the mental problems are the cause of the changed structure in the brain. They also don’t know if the damage is permanent. Because what happens if the brain remains older than the children’s original age? It is also unclear, the researchers explain. For an 80-year-old, one would expect that such changes would lead to cognitive problems. But what that means for a 16-year-old is more difficult to determine. Had to change the study It was not really intended that this study should look at the consequences of covid-19. Because ahead of the pandemic, Gotlieb and colleagues had recruited a group of children and young people to participate in a long-term study on depression during puberty. But when the virus arrived, they could not carry out the regular and planned MRI scans on the young people. – Therefore, we had to restart nine months after the project had started, he explains. Nevertheless, he was to make good use of the work that had already been done. Without this, they would not have found the serious changes. – Interesting Michael Thomas is professor of cognitive neuroscience. He is employed at Birkbeck University in London. He tells The Guardian newspaper that the findings in the new study are important. – This is interesting data that shows that the pandemic may have had a major effect on teenagers. Big enough for them to be reflected in the structure of the brain. But the professor emphasizes that not enough is known about what the size of structures in the brain has to do with behaviour. – These types of measurements of the brain do not tell us enough about the detailed circuits that control behaviour, he says to the British newspaper. Will follow the young people further The researchers behind the study still believe that the findings could have great significance for the future. – Children who have lived through covid-19 do not need to be in the same neurological condition as the children before them. But it will not be easy to weed out such differences. The pandemic is global, and there is no one who has not experienced it. That’s why you don’t have a real control group, says Gotlieb. The researchers will now follow this group of young people further. They must look carefully at how the mental health of the participants develops over the years.
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The brain of teenagers looks different after the corona pandemic and lockdown – news Trøndelag
