Study Says Teen Brains Aged Faster During the First Year of the Pandemic

A new study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science says the brains of U.S. teens physically changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and show signs of aging faster than normal. Researchers from Stanford University compared MRI scans of 163 teens, with half of the scans taken before the pandemic and the other half at the end of 2020. The scans taken during the pandemic showed the teens’ brains had grown in the areas that can help manage fear and stress and control access to memories, and thinning in the part of the brain that controls skills such as concentration and time management. More research will be needed to know if these changes are permanent or temporary effects of the pandemic.



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