Three Alarming Long-Term Brain Changes Due to COVID Lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic changed lives virtually everywhere on earth, with all populations and demographics facing upheavals like lockdowns and interruptions in daily routines. But children living through COVID and its related life-altering effects were faced with a unique struggle: They were enduring these hardships while their brains were still developing.

While the full consequences of the pandemic will take years or even decades to fully grasp, studies are showing that our young people have been greatly affected. Specifically, researchers have discovered various changes in adolescents’ brains, which may impact their mental health for years to come.

HOW THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED OUR YOUTH

A 2022 study published in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science found that COVID-19 had far-reaching effects on adolescent brains. Researchers compared MRI scans from 163 teens, both before and during the pandemic. They noted the following brain changes:

1. Reduced cortical thickness. Cortical thickness naturally decreases with age. But it’s further reduced when young people face adversity, such as traumatic experiences, early in their lives. In the general population, cortical thinning has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, as well as mental health conditions like schizophrenia.

Fortunately, there may be natural ways to increase cortical thickness in certain regions of the brain. One Harvard study showed that, after only eight weeks of mindfulness meditation, participants showed increased cortical thickness in the hippocampus, which plays a role in controlling learning and memory. Meditation also strengthened areas of the brain related to emotional regulation.

2. Accelerated brain aging. The study on post-pandemic teens found that adolescents had a larger hippocampal volume and a larger amygdala volume.

Along with reduced cortical thickness, these factors are associated with overall accelerated brain maturation. The study’s authors noted that “adolescents assessed during the pandemic also had larger positive brain age gap estimates, indicative of older-appearing brains.”

It remains to be seen whether the adolescents’ brains will normalize over the years to come, or if these changes will persist over their lifetimes.  

3. Potential mental health problems. The brain-imaging work at Amen Clinics shows that brain health is mental health. So it’s not surprising that researchers discovered more severe internalizing mental health problems (such as depression, anxiety, and fears) in adolescent brains impacted by COVID. 

This confirmed findings from a 2021 meta-analysis of 29 studies, which found that depression and anxiety among young people had grown significantly through the pandemic.

The authors estimated that about one in four young people worldwide were experiencing elevated symptoms of clinical depression. And one in five youth were coping with elevated symptoms of anxiety.

These numbers are double the amount previously estimated before the pandemic, and they were found to be increasing over time.  

COVID-RELATED BRAIN CHANGES IN MALES VS. FEMALES

While these COVID-related brain changes in our youth are alarming, another study found that they do not affect boys and girls in the same ways, or to the same degree. These findings were released in 2024 in the National Academy of the Sciences journal, PNAS.

The study compared results between genders by using MRI data from before and after COVID lockdowns. Researchers noted that the social isolation had an overall detrimental effect on the mental health of adolescents, and females were more affected.

Here are some of their most significant discoveries:

• Post-COVID brains showed accelerated cortical thinning, but females experienced a more widespread effect throughout the brain. Females’ changes were also greater in magnitude, compared to males.

• The average brain aging acceleration was the equivalent of 4.2 years in females and 1.4 years in males.

• Of the 68 brain regions analyzed, 30 regions of the female brain and 2 regions of the male brain showed deviations from the normal development that would be expected.

• In the female group of study participants, significant cortical thinning occurred in regions in all lobes of the brain, and in both hemispheres. In the male group, the regions with significant cortical thinning were located only in the occipital lobe.

• In females, the brain regions that showed the greatest acceleration in cortical thinning were those that relate to social cognition, as well as other cognitive functions. These regions are the bilateral fusiform, the left insula, and the left superior temporal cortex.

Researchers discussed possible reasons for these changes. First, adolescence ushers in significant changes that relate to emotions, behavior, and social development. Teens become more independent individuals, separating from their parents, socializing with their peers, and developing their own identity.

At the same time, the first signs of mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders, may emerge in the teen years. Females are generally at higher risk for these. But both sexes are more prone to these kinds of disorders when put under stress for prolonged periods, as seen in those with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

Males, for their part, were found in another study to show increased risk for different issues after the pandemic, including attention problems, video game addiction, and diminished life satisfaction. But females are believed to have been more impacted by the lack of social interaction caused by the pandemic, for a variety of reasons.

The PNAS study researchers hypothesized that one potential cause for this difference is because females are more likely to rely on their peer relationships for emotional support. Males may have been less affected because their relationships are based more on companionship and joint activities.

We already know that growing numbers of teen girls are struggling with sadness and suicidality as a result of the pandemic, the rise of social media, and other factors. This study supports the notion that young females are at greater risk for mental health issues triggered by these changes.

ONGOING POST-PANDEMIC CARE FOR OUR YOUTH

After comparing male and female adolescents’ brain development before and after COVID, the authors of the PNAS study warned of possible ripple effects in the future. They concluded that the ongoing stress caused by the pandemic and its associated lifestyle changes, such as lockdowns, may have long-term effects on the brain.

However, they added, because the study looked at adolescents from 12-16 years old, more research is needed to determine the pandemic’s effects on younger children, as well as young adults.

“Accelerated cortical maturation might make individuals who were adolescents during the pandemic lockdowns more susceptible to developing neuropsychiatric disorders and possibly even neurodegenerative disorders as they age,” the study’s authors stated.

Because of this increased risk, they urged ongoing monitoring and support for our youth in the wake of COVID lockdowns. Being proactive about mental health issues in young people can make a world of difference. Seeking help from a mental health professional can benefit their mental and physical health over the long term.