COVID-19 lockdown effects on adolescent brain structure suggest accelerated maturation that is more pronounced in females than in males.

ABSTRACT: Adolescence is a period of substantial social-emotional development, accompanied by dramatic changes to brain structure and function. Social isolation due to lockdowns that were imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic had a detrimental impact on adolescent mental health, with the mental health of females more affected than males. We assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns on adolescent brain structure with a focus on sex differences. We collected MRI structural data longitudinally from adolescents prior to and after the pandemic lockdowns. The pre-COVID data were used to create a normative model of cortical thickness change with age during typical adolescent development. Cortical thickness values in the post-COVID data were compared to this normative model. The analysis rev

SUBMITTER: Corrigan NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11420155 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature