"The scientists used data from the U.K. Biobank, a massive health database that includes brain imaging from tens of thousands of participants. They trained a machine-learning model to estimate brain age based on hundreds of structural features seen in MRI scans. Then they compared two groups: people who had both scans before the pandemic and those who had one scan before and one during the pandemic. The result? Brain aging accelerated in the pandemic group, even among people who didn't get COVID-19."
"Then they compared two groups: people who had both scans before the pandemic and those who had one scan before and one during the pandemic. The result? Brain aging accelerated in the pandemic group, even among people who didn't get COVID-19. Now here's a twist: while the structure of the brain appeared older, cognitive functionthings like processing speed and problem-solvingdidn't necessarily decline in people who avoided infection. The structural changes didn't always mean someone felt or performed worse, at least not right away."
Researchers in the U.K. analyzed brain MRI scans from nearly 1,000 healthy adults taken before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using U.K. Biobank data. They trained a machine-learning model on hundreds of structural MRI features to estimate brain age. People who had scans during the pandemic showed accelerated brain aging, averaging about five and a half months older than prepandemic trends. The accelerated aging occurred even among individuals who did not contract COVID-19. Structural brain changes did not always coincide with cognitive decline; processing speed and problem-solving often remained unchanged in uninfected participants.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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