Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2025
08:29
Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans
Published on: December 18, 2016
13.9K
Structural brain changes in post-COVID condition and its relationship with cognitive impairment.
Laura Pacheco-Jaime1,2, Carla Garcia-Vicente1,2, Mar Ariza1,3
1Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Brain Communications
|February 26, 2025
Summary
Post-COVID condition is linked to long-term brain changes, including altered cortical thickness and white matter integrity, which correlate with cognitive deficits like memory and processing speed impairments.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Post-COVID condition affects a significant percentage of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals.
- Cognitive dysfunction and structural brain changes are noted in post-COVID condition, but their relationship remains unclear.
- Long-term neurological sequelae of COVID-19 require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate structural brain alterations in post-COVID condition patients nearly two years post-infection.
- To explore the relationship between these brain changes and cognitive impairments.
- To examine associations with blood biomarkers and clinical variables.
Main Methods:
- Structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and comprehensive neuropsychological assessments were performed on 128 post-COVID patients and 37 controls.
- Cortical thickness, subcortical volumes, grey matter analysis, and white matter integrity (diffusion tensor imaging) were analyzed.
- Blood biomarker levels were assessed in a subset of participants.
Main Results:
- Post-COVID patients exhibited significant deficits in working memory, verbal memory, processing speed, verbal fluency, and executive functions compared to controls.
- Increased cortical thickness in specific frontal regions correlated negatively with working memory performance.
- Reduced white matter integrity (fractional anisotropy) in key tracts correlated with subjective memory failures. No significant blood biomarker differences were found.
Conclusions:
- Structural grey and white matter alterations persist in post-COVID condition patients up to two years after infection.
- These brain changes partially explain long-term cognitive deficits observed in this population.
- Monitoring individuals with post-COVID condition is crucial for understanding and managing long-term neurological effects.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
327
The cerebellum, while traditionally associated with motor control, also plays a crucial role in memory, particularly in procedural memory, which involves learning motor tasks that become automatic through repetition. For example, studies have shown that when the cerebellum is damaged, individuals or animals lose the ability to learn conditioned motor responses, such as the conditioned eye-blink response in classical conditioning experiments with rabbits. This study demonstrates the...
327
01:30Cognitive Development During Adulthood
44
Cognitive development continues throughout adulthood, undergoing significant shifts across early, middle, and late stages. Individual transition occurs from adolescent idealism to pragmatic and adaptable thinking in early adulthood. During this period, individuals learn to integrate personal beliefs with the recognition that other perspectives are equally valid. Exposure to the complexities of modern society, diverse experiences, and higher education contribute to this adaptive thought process,...
44
01:27Language and Cognition
314
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
314