Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Brain Maturation in Adolescents: Implications for Analyzing Longitudinal Data

Gotlib, Ian H.; Miller, Jonas G.; Borchers, Lauren R.; Coury, Saché M.; Costello, Lisa C.; Garcia, Jordan M.; Ho, Tiffany C.

doi:10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.11.002

Cited by 39 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Notably, no pandemic-related effects were observed in the amygdala which is inconsistent with the cross-sectional findings reported by 38 showing larger amygdala volumes in adolescents measured during pandemic compared to adolescents that were scanned before the pandemic. It should be noted that this prior study was a cross-sectional study whereas the current study was longitudinal, which limits direct comparisons.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…We observed that specifically the hippocampus showed an accelerated developmental pattern for 9-13-yearolds growing up during versus before the pandemic. This finding fits with a cross-sectional study of 38 reporting that 16-year-old adolescents who experienced COVID-19 related pandemic effects show larger volumes of the hippocampus compared to same-aged individuals that were assessed before the pandemic. Other work shows inconsistent findings regarding to the effects of (chronic) stress on hippocampal development.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Nevertheless, prior studies on child and adolescents' behavior showed pronounced effects in multiple domains such as mood and social behavior 3,49,50,52,65 . Therefore, future studies could link neural development to other behaviors, including mood 38 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, other work focusing on effects of stress (e.g., childhood maltreatment) showed that reduced volumetric hippocampus growth was mainly found in adults whereas children showed typical growth, suggesting atypical development after a prolonged period of stress 29,37 . One recent cross-sectional study in 16-year-olds showed that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were related to larger hippocampal and amygdala volume by comparing adolescents that were assessed before-pandemic to adolescents assessed peri-pandemic 38 . Because of the influences of stressful experiences 30,38,39 , we expected that amygdala and hippocampal development would be affected by social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and we investigated this question in the present study using a longitudinal design, which allowed us to test whether brain development is affected by measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, we tested for effects of pandemic duration in the peri-pandemic group to investigate whether effects were leveling off or increasing with longer duration of the pandemic 42 . We examined similar effects within the amygdala and hippocampus based on prior studies showing that amygdala growth mainly accelerates during stressful events in childhood 32,38 and hippocampal volume growth either accelerates 38 or shows to be stable with a possible delayed effect of stress later in adulthood 29 . Finally, we examined effects of pandemic duration on brain development, empathy and prosocial behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on structural brain development in early adolescence

Drunen¹,

Toenders²,

Wierenga³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The COVID-19 pandemic caused a global health crisis with large behavioral effects and serious stress and social consequences. Particularly, teenagers suffered pandemic-related social restrictions including school closures. This study examined whether and how structural brain development was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and whether pandemic length was associated with accumulating or resilience effects of brain development. We investigated structural changes in social brain regions (medial prefrontal cortex: mPFC; temporoparietal junction: TPJ) as well as the stress-related hippocampus and amygdala, using a longitudinal design of 2 MRI waves. We selected two longitudinal age-matched subgroups (9-13 years old) of which one was tested before (n=114) and the other during (peri-pandemic group, n=204) the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated that teenagers in the peri-pandemic group showed accelerated development in the mPFC and hippocampus compared to the before-pandemic group. Furthermore, TPJ growth showed immediate effects followed by possibly subsequent recovery effects that returned to a typical developmental pattern. No pandemic effects were observed for the amygdala. These findings suggest that experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic measures had accelerated effects on hippocampus and mPFC development but the TPJ showed resilience to negative effects. Follow-up MRI assessments are needed to test acceleration and recovery effects over longer periods.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on structural brain development in early adolescence

Drunen¹,

Toenders²,

Wierenga³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Hippocampal Structures Among Japanese Adolescents Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cai,

Maikusa,

Zhu

et al. 2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportanceFew studies have used a large-sample, longitudinal, population-based cohort study to examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic as a global major life event is associated with structural plasticity of the adolescent hippocampus.ObjectiveTo examine whether Japan's first state of emergency (SoE) during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with alterations in the macrostructures and microstructures of the hippocampus during its development.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThe population-neuroscience Tokyo TEEN Cohort study is a prospective cohort study with 4 consecutive waves in Tokyo, Japan. Due to the SoE, data collection was suspended between March 27, 2020, and July 30, 2020. Analyzed data, comprising 1149 brain structural scans obtained from 479 participants, of whom 336 participants had undergone 2 or more scans, were collected between October 2013 and November 2021. Data were analyzed from August 2022 to December 2023.ExposuresJapan’s first SoE (April 7 to May 25, 2020).Main Outcomes and MeasuresHippocampal volume, 12 hippocampal subfield volumes, and 7 microstructural measures of the hippocampus.ResultsA total of 1060 brain scans from 459 participants (214 female participants [47%]) including 246 participants from wave 1 (median [IQR] age, 11.3 [11.1-11.7] years), 358 from wave 2 (median [IQR] age, 13.8 [13.3-14.5] years), 304 from wave 3 (median [IQR] age, 15.9 [15.4-16.5] years), and 152 from wave 4 (median [IQR] age, 17.9 [17.5-18.4] years) were included in the final main analysis. The generalized additive mixed model showed a significant associations of the SoE with the mean hippocampal volume (β = 102.19; 95% CI, 0.61-203.77; P = .049). The generalized linear mixed models showed the main associations of the SoE with hippocampal subfield volume (granule cell and molecular layer of the dentate gyrus: β = 18.19; 95% CI, 2.97-33.41; uncorrected P = .02; CA4: β = 12.75; 95% CI, 0.38-25.12; uncorrected P = .04; hippocampus-amygdala transition area: β = 5.67; 95% CI, 1.18-10.17; uncorrected P = .01), and fractional anisotropy (β = 0.03; 95% CI, 0.00-0.06; uncorrected P = .04).Conclusions and RelevanceAfter the first SoE, a volumetric increase in the hippocampus and trend increase in 3 subfield volumes and microstructural integration of the hippocampus were observed, suggesting that the transient plasticity of the adolescent hippocampus was affected by a major life event along with the typical developmental trajectory.

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Navigating Pubertal Goldilocks: The Optimal Pace for Hierarchical Brain Organization

Szakács,

Mutlu,

Balestrieri

et al. 2024

Advanced Science

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Adolescence is a timed process with an onset, tempo, and duration. Nevertheless, the temporal dimension, especially the pace of maturation, remains an insufficiently studied aspect of developmental progression. The primary objective is to estimate the precise influence of pubertal maturational tempo on the configuration of associative brain regions. To this end, the connection between maturational stages and the level of hierarchical organization of large‐scale brain networks in 12‐13‐year‐old females is analyzed. Skeletal maturity is used as a proxy for pubertal progress. The degree of maturity is defined by the difference between bone age and chronological age. To assess the level of hierarchical organization in the brain, the temporal dynamic of closed eye resting state high‐density electroencephalography (EEG) in the alpha frequency range is analyzed. Different levels of hierarchical order are captured by the measured asymmetry in the directionality of information flow between different regions. The calculated EEG‐based entropy production of participant groups is then compared with accelerated, average, and decelerated maturity. Results indicate that an average maturational trajectory optimally aligns with cerebral hierarchical order, and both accelerated and decelerated timelines result in diminished cortical organization. This suggests that a “Goldilocks rule” of brain development is favoring a particular maturational tempo.

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Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Brain Maturation in Adolescents: Implications for Analyzing Longitudinal Data

Cited by 39 publications

References 39 publications

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on structural brain development in early adolescence

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on structural brain development in early adolescence

Hippocampal Structures Among Japanese Adolescents Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Navigating Pubertal Goldilocks: The Optimal Pace for Hierarchical Brain Organization

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