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Functional connectivity changes in long-Covid patients with and without cognitive impairment
Manuel Leitner1, Daniela Pinter2, Stefan Ropele3
1Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; Department of Medical Psychology, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Summary
Long-Covid is linked to cognitive issues. Brain scans reveal altered functional connectivity in default mode networks and visual-ventral streams in patients with cognitive deficits, suggesting maladaptive changes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Long-Covid is frequently associated with cognitive impairments affecting memory, attention, and executive functions.
- The underlying cerebral structural and functional changes in long-Covid patients with cognitive deficits remain incompletely understood.
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers a valuable tool for investigating brain network alterations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in brain structure and function between long-Covid patients with and without cognitive impairment.
- To identify specific resting-state network alterations associated with cognitive deficits in long-Covid.
- To explore the relationship between functional connectivity changes and cognitive performance.
Main Methods:
- Structural and functional resting-state MRI scans were acquired from 39 long-Covid patients.
- Patients were categorized into two groups based on cognitive impairment (deficit in ≥1 domain) versus no impairment.
- Analyses focused on differences in resting-state networks (within and between networks) and gray matter/subcortical volumes.
Main Results:
- Cognitively impaired long-Covid patients exhibited higher functional connectivity (FC) between the default mode network (DMN) and specific posterior brain regions.
- Increased connectivity between the visual and ventral stream networks was observed in patients with cognitive impairment.
- No significant volumetric differences in gray matter or subcortical regions were found between the groups.
Conclusions:
- Altered functional connectivity, particularly involving the DMN and visual-ventral streams, is associated with cognitive deficits in long-Covid.
- These findings suggest maladaptive functional brain changes contribute to cognitive impairment post-Covid-19.
- Neuroimaging can help elucidate the mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction in long-Covid.
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