UW News

Neva Corrigan

September 9, 2024

COVID-19 lockdowns prematurely aged teenage brains, UW study shows

Young girl doing schoolwork on a laptop while sitting at a table

New research from the University of Washington found lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unusually accelerated brain maturation in adolescents. This maturation was more pronounced in girls. When measured in terms of the number of years of accelerated brain development, the mean acceleration was 4.2 years in females and 1.4 years in males.