Pandemic stress prematurely aged teens’ brains, Stanford study finds
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A Stanford University study published Thursday found that stress from the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely aged adolescents’ brains, making them more like those of peers about three years older.
By comparing MRI scans from children taken before the pandemic with scans from other kids taken during the pandemic, the study found that changes in brain structure that occur naturally with age sped up in adolescents as they experienced the COVID-19 lockdowns. That could have lasting implications for those youths if the changes are found to be more than temporary.
