Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40796772›Full record

ArticleTranslational psychiatry2025

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on neurobiological functioning in adolescents.

Justin P Yuan, Lauren R Borchers, Yoonji Lee, Jessica L Buthmann, Saché M Coury, Julian Joachimsthaler, Emma L Jaeger, Tiffany C Ho, Ian H Gotlib

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Translational psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Justin P YuanDept. of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. yuanjp@stanford.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3402-0432
Lauren R BorchersDept. of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Yoonji LeeDept. of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Jessica L ButhmannDept. of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1815-9418
Saché M CouryDept. of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Julian JoachimsthalerDept. of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Emma L JaegerDept. of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Tiffany C HoDept. of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4500-6364
Ian H GotlibDept. of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Funding

Psychobiological Mechanisms Underlying the Association Between Early Life Stress and Depression Across AdolescenceR37MH101495 · NIMH · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI IAN H GOTLIB · 2018 to 2026
$6.6M
The Roles of Inflammatory and Glutamatergic Processes in the Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms Underlying Adolescent DepressionK01MH117442 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI HO, TIFFANY CHEING · 2018 to 2022
$881k
NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH117442NIMH NIH HHS R37 MH101495U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) K01MH117442U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R37MH101495
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns were an unprecedented source of stress, with striking adverse effects on adolescents' mental health but relatively unknown effects on important aspects of neurobiological functioning. Using data from 154 adolescents (age M ± SD = 16.2 ± 1.1 years; range = 13.9-19.4) drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study and assessed either before or after the pandemic, we compared the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic groups on three key stress-sensitive biological systems: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, immune response, and neural responses to affective stimuli. We found that compared to those assessed before the pandemic, adolescents assessed post-lockdown had significantly lower total cortisol production, elevated levels of systemic inflammation, and reduced neural activation in the prefrontal cortex during affective processing (pseudo-F(1,3250) = 7.43, p = 0.006). These findings suggest that, for adolescents, the experience of the pandemic was associated with significant disruptions in multiple biological systems that are sensitive to stress that might have enduring adverse developmental effects.

Indexed as

COVID-19Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal SystemPituitary-Adrenal SystemPrefrontal CortexStress, PsychologicalAdolescentFemaleHumansHydrocortisoneInflammationLongitudinal StudiesMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleSalivaSARS-CoV-2Young AdultHydrocortisone

Identifiers

PMID40796772
PMCPMC12343994

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.