HOW THE LOCKDOWN CHANGED TEENAGERS' BRAINS

Study finds accelerated brain aging in juvenile brains following isolation during the pandemic

A recent study reported the somewhat alarming observation that the social disruptions of COVID lockdowns caused significant changes in teenagers' brains. Using MRI data, researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle showed that the usual, age-related thinning of the cortex – the folded surface of the adolescent brain – accelerated after the lockdowns, and the effect was greater in the female brain than the male.