A TikToker Went Viral For Explaining "Pandemic Brain" — And These Scientists Say It's A Real Phenomenon
On today's episode of BuzzFeed Daily, we broke down the top pop culture headlines AND discussed the neurological condition called "Pandemic Brain." You can listen below or scroll down to read more about the interview!
So let's dive right into it! Recently we talked to Marco Loggia and Ludovica Brusaferri, two Harvard scientists, about their recent study on "Pandemic Brain." Here's some of what we learned:
BuzzFeed Daily: So the two of you recently co-authored a study, along with several others, about a condition you've named "Pandemic Brain." Now, we should say up top that the study is still being peer reviewed, so it hasn't officially received that stamp of approval. But what is the main hypothesis that you've arrived at?
Marco Loggia: Thank you for the question, and thank you for pointing out that this is still under peer review. As scientists we want to be extra careful. Also, I'd like to say we didn't coin the term pandemic brain, we borrowed it — it's a pop term. But essentially we're doing a lot of work studying the role of neuroinflammation. A main thing that is emerging is that brain inflammation appears to be linked to many different symptoms — depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain, et cetera. So one day, my very smart post-doc Ludovica showed up in the lab, and she made this insightful observation that symptoms of neuroinflammation have been reported more often since the pandemic. And so she said, "Well, why don't we check if the pandemic has actually induced these changes in the brain?" And I thought it was a great idea. I tend to be a little skeptical in general as a person, so I gave my blessings. But at the same time, I spent the rest of the following several months trying to prove it wrong. I gave us so many tests and so many different analyses. At the end I think had to concede. I think the data is there to support it— she was right and I was wrong.
BuzzFeed Daily: So we found this TikTok from user @jandralee which originally introduced us to your study. What do you feel like she got right?
@jandralee Reply to @dramadork884 Add in all the other pandemic changes, and struggle is inevitable. #adhdtok #pandemicbrain #mentalhealthtok #learnwithme
♬ original sound - Jandra Sutton
Ludovica Brusaferri: I was actually quite impressed in the way she described this study because it was a very simplistic way of describing what we found. But it was correct because she didn't just give an opinion on our side. You shouldn't give too much scientific insight. She basically read the paper and said, "Look, this is what people have found, and maybe there are more people that relate to it." And I really appreciated that.
BuzzFeed Daily: So what factors of the pandemic and the lockdowns contributed to this neurological reaction?
LB: Basically, we linked any related psychological distress to new inflammation. However, we were not able to uncover the actually the causal relationship between the symptoms and the new inflammation. So these new inflammatory changes might be due to health concerns pertaining to the risk of infections, changes in lifestyle, loss of jobs and other sources of income resulting from the shutdown of businesses or other factors.
BuzzFeed Daily: Now, I'm asking for me who has experienced this — is there a way to reverse these symptoms?
ML: You know, we can certainly talk about certain remedies that may reduce inflammation. But bottom line: we don't really know what is causing this. Is it the social isolation because we do less exercise through the week? Are we sleeping maybe less or maybe more? We don't know the mechanism, therefore knowing exactly how to fix this is a little complicated. There is some evidence that supplements can help. There is a lot of hype on curcumin and there's some evidence it can reduce inflammation. There is ample evidence that exercising or even meditation or doing yoga can reduce inflammation. And of course people are probably drinking more alcohol and that probably doesn't help as well. So certainly there are few lifestyle changes that are worth trying. Truth be told we don't really know what's causing this, so it's a little tough to make a specific recommendations.
🔈Listen to the episode above for the full interview.
We also discussed how Olivia Rodrigo responded to the accusations of copyright infringement on her debut album Sour.
Olivia said, “"It was really frustrating to see people discredit and deny my creativity." Then, when speaking about being compared to other female artists said, “Young women are constantly compared to each other. I'm the 'new this' or 'this woman meets that woman,' and that can be reductive. I'm just Olivia. I'm doing my own thing. It's meaningful when people recognize that."
Olivia has openly acknowledged the influence of Taylor Swift and Paramour on her tracks “Deja Vu” and “Good 4 U,” respectively. She’s even given songwriting credits and royalties to those artists.
We also talked about how Peloton responded to a very surprising moment in the Sex and the City reboot.
***SPOILER ALERT*** for last night's premiere of And Just Like That...
Last night And Just Like That… premiered on HBO Max, and fans were legitimately shocked by the episode’s final moments in which Mr. Big has a heart attack after riding a Peloton.
Today Peloton issued a statement from Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventative cardiologist and member of Peloton’s health and wellness advisory council, saying, “I’m sure ‘SATC’ fans, like me, are saddened by the news that Mr. Big dies of a heart attack. Mr. Big lived what many would call an extravagant lifestyle — including cocktails, cigars, and big steaks — and was at serious risk as he had a previous cardiac event in Season 6. These lifestyle choices and perhaps even his family history, which often is a significant factor, were the likely cause of his death. Riding his Peloton Bike may have even helped delay his cardiac event.”
