COVID-19 Impacts Brain's Frontal Lobes Electrical Activity
Revised Article:
Here's a breakdown of recent research on the neurological effects of COVID-19, focusing on EEG (electroencephalography) test results.
COVID-19's Impact on the Brain
Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh analyzed EEG results from 617 patients, compiled in 84 different studies, to investigate how the virus affects the brain.
Unsurprisingly, the most common findings they identified were slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges. Interestingly, the severity of these EEG abnormalities correlated with the severity of the disease and whether the patients had preexisting neurological conditions, such as epilepsy.
Frontal Lobe Concerns
Around a third of the abnormal findings were found in the frontal lobes of the brain. Dr. Zulfi Haneef, assistant professor of neurology/neurophysiology at Baylor and a co-author of the study, believes there's a connection between the virus's entry point and the frontal lobes. Given that the virus likely enters through the nose, which is near the frontal lobe, it seems sensible to examine this region more closely.
However, the researchers caution that the virus might not be solely responsible for all the damage. Systemic effects of the infection, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, unusually "sticky" blood, and cardiac arrest, may also play a role in EEG abnormalities that extend beyond the frontal lobes.
Long COVID and Brain Fog
People who have recovered from COVID-19 have reported ongoing health issues, now collectively known as long COVID. Among these is "brain fog."
A study, yet to be published but uploaded to the preprint server MedRxiv, found that individuals who believe they have had COVID-19 performed less well on an online cognitive test than those who did not believe they had contracted the virus. The authors suggest that the infection could age people cognitively by around a decade.
While this study does not definitively prove long-term cognitive decline, it does raise concerns about lasting effects on the brain. EEG abnormalities associated with the neurological symptoms of COVID-19 further support these concerns. Dr. Haneef underscores that, although many patients show improvements in their EEG tests, there still could be long-term issues, hinting at serious implications for recovery.
On a more optimistic note, the authors report that approximately 56.8% of those who had follow-up EEG tests showed improvements. It's worth noting, though, that their analysis had several limitations, such as lack of access to raw data from individual studies and potential bias in reporting normal EEGs. Moreover, doctors may have given anti-seizure medications to patients suspected of having seizures, which could have obscured signs of seizures in their EEG traces.
In conclusion, while more research is needed to establish a clear correlation, the relationships between COVID-19 severity, frontal lobe EEG changes, and long-term neurological effects are areas of ongoing investigation. Neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques, such as EEG and TMS-EEG, could potentially offer valuable insights into these relationships.
[1] www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0855-6[2] doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2021.01.015[3] academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/116/6/1467/5922282[4] www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-70356-4[5] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7382871/[6] medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.14.20131703v1.full.pdf+htm
- The research on COVID-19's impact on the brain suggests a correlation between the virus's severity and the occurrence of EEG abnormalities, especially in those with preexisting neurological conditions such as epilepsy.
- Studies like the one from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh have identified slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges as the most common findings in patients with COVID-19, with around a third of these abnormalities found in the frontal lobes.
- Beyond COVID-19's direct impact, systemic effects such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, and cardiac arrest may also contribute to EEG abnormalities that extend beyond the frontal lobes.
- The implications of COVID-19 on mental health and neurological disorders are areas of ongoing investigation, with concerns being raised about the potential for long-term cognitive decline and neurological symptoms, such as "brain fog."
