Publication date: Dec 10, 2025
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the social aspect of child development. However, few studies have examined its impact on the structural development of children’s brains-particularly the olfactory system-given the reported anosmia. This study aims to assess potential structural differences in the olfactory system among children with reported past COVID-19 infections compared with children who did not report having COVID-19 using data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. We conducted a time-series analysis of MRI data from the ABCD study to determine if the volume of brain structures associated with the olfactory system was impacted by COVID-19 infection. The ABCD study is comprised of approximately 12,000 children born from 2006 to 2008 from 21 sites across the United States. We used regression analysis to compare the differences in brain volume growth in the structures of the primary and secondary olfactory cortices. Secondarily, we compared brain structure development among those with COVID-19 by whether or not they experienced COVID-related anosmia. Of 2423 participants, 8. 1% (n = 195) had prior COVID-19, and 22. 97% (n = 34) of those reported anosmia. Children with COVID-19 showed smaller amygdala (P = . 023), hippocampus (P = . 001), parahippocampal gyrus (P = . 004), insula (P = . 047), and total cortical volumes (P = . 016), with larger volumes in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (P = . 047). Those reporting anosmia had a smaller hippocampus (P = . 013), right anterior segment of the circular sulcus of the insula (P = . 002), left posterior cingulate cortex (P
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
| disease | MESH | infection |
| disease | MESH | anosmia |
| disease | MESH | Long Covid |