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New study finds the pandemic physically aged teens' brains

"It's the first demonstration of physical alterations in the brain as a function of experiencing the pandemic,” said Stanford professor, Ian Gotlib.

SAN DIEGO — A new study by Stanford University shows pandemic stress physically aged teens' brains.

"This is significant because it's the first demonstration of physical alterations in the brain as a function of experiencing the pandemic,” said Ian Gotlib, a professor of psychology at Stanford.

Gotlib is one of the researchers behind the study, which found the brains of teens around the age of 16 who were assessed after the pandemic shutdowns appeared several years older than those of teens who were assessed before the pandemic.

Until now, those accelerated brain changes have only been seen in children experiencing chronic adversity, such as neglect and family dysfunction.

"To see a study that actually shows structural changes in brain structure was fascinating and really adds another layer to the discussion we've been having the last two years,” said Dr. Willough Jenkins, Director for Emergency and Consultation Liaison Psychiatry at Rady Children's Hospital.

This year alone, 5,000 kids have visited the emergency department at Rady Children’s Hospital with mental health concerns.

Dr. Jenkins says this study highlights the need to further address the issue.

"It just indicates to me how much more is needed and we cannot become complacent thinking that because stressors are gone, we don't need to do more. This is the time we need to step in, get into the schools, find these children and really work on doing everything we can to improve their mental health," said Dr. Jenkins.

The study was not originally designed to look at the impact of Covid-19 on brain structure.

Before the pandemic, Stanford recruited a cohort of children and adolescents to analyze depression during puberty.

Shifting gears, they decided to compare those brain scans to ones taken of kids the same age after lockdowns.

Moving forward, Gotlib and his team will continue to assess the same teens into early adulthood, to find out whether or not those changes are permanent.

And, if so, what mental health challenges they present, if any.

"To see if this is continuing or if this was a short-term reaction to the pandemic," said Gotlib.

Dr. Jenkins says she's eager to learn more, suggesting researchers also look at the brains of younger children, as well as those from various socioeconomic backgrounds.

"I think anything showing this type of change in children's brains leads to so many questions about the ramifications of how this will affect their future. Is this permanent? Can this be reversed? So, I'm incredibly interested to follow along with the study and to see more things coming out looking at this more in detail," said Dr. Jenkins.

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