Study finds brain wiring predicted adolescents’ emotional health during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for many adolescents, disrupting their schooling and social/emotional development. Drawing on national data, a large study finds that how adolescents’ brains were wired before the pandemic predicted their stress, negative emotions, and overall mental health during its height— making them more vulnerable or more resilient. The findings, reported in the journal Cerebral Cortex, could help target behavioral therapies to the brain circuits and functions most affected, says study leader Caterina Stamoulis, Ph.D., who heads the Computational Neuroscience Laboratory in the Division of Adolescent and Young Read More