New research suggests that COVID lockdowns caused young people's brains to age at an increased rate. September 10, 2024.
© Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / © BRIANA SANCHEZ/EL PASO TIMES / USA TODAY NETWORK
(Seattle, WA) – Anecdotally, there’s been plenty of stories from parents, teachers, and students about the kind of impact COVID-19 made on education and the entire school experience. But now, several years removed from the most intense lockdowns, research is putting it into context.
Specifically, scientists at the University of Washington studied brain scans. Apparently, school lockdowns aged teenagers brains by as many as four years.
The increased aging of brains was discovered by looking at the cerebral cortex. That’s the part of the brain that controls things like reasoning and decision making. The researchers say the cerebral cortex is significantly more thinned out than expected when looking at teen’s brains post lockdowns.
There are differences along gender lines in terms of brain impact. Boy’s brains showed an average premature brain aging of 1.4 years. The impact for girl’s brains was notably higher — averaging 4.1 years.
