The brains of young girls are aging earlier! The findings point to the quarantine days.

A research conducted in the USA revealed that young girls who experienced lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic had more aged brains. 160 young brains, examined by scientists at Washington University in the USA, were compared and it was found that young girls aged approximately 5 years earlier than boys.

AGING EXISTS IN BOTH GENDERS

In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the brains of 160 young people aged between 9 and 17 in 2018 and those who reached the ages of 12 to 16 in 2021-2022 were examined using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). When the research results were compared, it was found that the brains of young girls who experienced lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic aged an average of 4.2 years more than expected, while the brains of young boys aged approximately 1.4 years more than expected.

AGING IS OBSERVED IN REGIONS OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE IN COMMUNICATION

The researchers stated that both groups experienced early aging in the part of the brain that affects vision, and that the changes in the brains of young girls occurred in 30 regions, most of which are critical for communication such as processing emotions, interpreting facial expressions, and understanding language.

Prof. Dr. Patricia Kuhl, the director of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at Washington University and one of the authors of the study, stated that young girls are more dependent on social groups and interactions for their healthy neural, physical, and emotional development compared to young boys.

IT MAY HAVE AN EFFECT ON MENTAL HEALTH

Kuhl stated that the different changes in the brains of the two groups are related to this situation. While it is still unknown whether the changes in young people's brains have negative consequences, there is concern that they may affect the mental health and learning potential of young people.