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Chronic stress can also alter the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s executive control center, and the amygdala, the center for fear and anxiety. Too much glucocorticoids for too long can disrupt connections both within the prefrontal cortex and with the amygdala. As a result, the prefrontal cortex loses its ability to control the amygdala and the fear and anxiety center works uncontrollably. This pattern of brain activity (too much movement in the amygdala and not enough communication with the prefrontal cortex) is common in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), another condition that has been elevated during the pandemic. especially among frontline healthcare workers.

The social isolation brought on by the pandemic was also likely to damage the structure and function of the brain. Loneliness is linked reduced volume as in the hippocampus and amygdala reduced link in the prefrontal cortex. Perhaps unsurprisingly, people living alone during the pandemic experienced higher rates of depression and anxiety.

Finally, damage to these brain areas affects people not only emotionally but also cognitively. Many psychologists have linked the pandemic brain fog to the effect of chronic stress on the prefrontal cortex, where it can impair concentration and working memory.

turnaround time

So that’s the bad news. The epidemic has affected our brains a lot. These adverse changes ultimately result in a stress-induced reduction in neuroplasticity, i.e. loss of cells and synapses instead of growth of new ones. But do not despair; there is some good news. For many people, the brain can regain its spontaneous flexibility after the stress has gone. If life begins to return to normal, our brain will return to normal as well.

“In many cases, the changes that occur with chronic stress diminish over time,” says James Herman, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati. “At the brain level, you can see many of these negative effects reversed.”

In other words, as your routine returns to its pre-pandemic state, so should your brain. As vaccinations continue, stress hormones will recede and anxiety about dying (or killing someone else) from a new virus will decrease. And when you step into the world again, all the little things that make you happy or challenge the good will do again, helping your brain repair the lost connections these behaviors once made. For example, social interaction is particularly good for the brain, just as social isolation is bad for the brain. People with larger social networks have more volume and Links in prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and other brain regions.

Even if you don’t want to socialize again yet, push yourself a bit anyway. Don’t do anything that makes you feel unsafe, but there is a “fake it until you do” aspect of treating some mental illnesses. In clinical speech this is called behavioral activationEmphasizes going out and doing things even if you don’t want to. At first, you may not experience the feelings of joy or fun you get from going to a bar or backyard barbecue, but if you stick with it, these activities will often start to feel easier and can help relieve feelings of depression. .

Rebecca Price, an associate professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, says that behavioral activation can work by enriching your environment. growth of new brain cells, at least in animal models. “Your brain will react to the environment you present to it, so if you are at home alone in a deprived, unenriched environment, this will likely result in some reduction in available pathways. “If you create for yourself a more enriched environment where you have more possible inputs, interactions, and stimuli, then [your brain] He’ll answer that.” So get up from your seat and check out a museum, botanical garden, or open-air concert. Your brain will thank you.

To exercise can also help. chronic stress consumes levels It is an important chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps increase neuroplasticity. Without BDNF, the brain cannot repair or replace cells and connections lost due to chronic stress. Increases exercise levels BDNF is specifically in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which at least partially explains why exercise can improve both cognition and mood.

BDNF not only helps new synapses grow, but can also help produce new neurons in the hippocampus. For decades, scientists thought that neurogenesis in humans stopped after puberty, but current researchshowed signs of neuronal growth until old age (the problem is still hotly controversial). Regardless of whether it works through neurogenesis or not, exercise has repeatedly been shown to improve people’s mood, attention, and cognition; Some therapists even write prescriptions to treat depression and anxiety. It’s time to go outside and start sweating.

return to treatment

There is so much variation in how people’s brains recover from stress and trauma, and not everyone will recover from the pandemic that easily.

“Some people seem to be more vulnerable to going into a chronic condition where they’re stuck with something like depression or anxiety,” Price says. In these cases, treatment or medication may be needed.

Some scientists now think that psychotherapy for depression and anxiety works, at least in part, by: changing brain activity, and that activating the brain in new patterns is the first step in creating new patterns. one inspection paper Researchers evaluating psychotherapy for different anxiety disorders found that the treatment was most effective in people who, after several weeks of therapy, showed more activity in the prefrontal cortex than before—especially when the area exerted control over the brain’s fear center.

Other researchers are trying to change people’s brain activity using video games. Adam Gazzaley, professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, developed the first brain training game to receive FDA approval for its ability to treat ADHD in children. The game was also shown improve attention spread in adults. Moreover, EEG studies revealed more functional connections involving the prefrontal cortex, indicating an increase in neuroplasticity in the region.

Now Gazzaley wants to use the game to treat people with pandemic brain fog. “We think there is an incredible opportunity here in terms of Covid recovery,” he says. “I believe that mindfulness as a system can help anywhere in the world. [mental health] conditions and symptoms that people suffer from, especially because of covid.”