Highlights
• Cognitive engagement induced distinct prefrontal haemodynamic patterns post COVID-19.
• 40% of the undergraduate students reported brain fog due to COVID-19.
• 37 % of the undergraduates exhibited impaired cognition up to 17 months post-infection.
• Brain fog appeared to affect the distinct prefrontal haemodynamic patterns.
Abstract
To date, 770 million people worldwide have contracted COVID-19, with many reporting long-term “brain fog”. Concerningly, young adults are both overrepresented in COVID-19 infection rates and may be especially vulnerable to prolonged cognitive impairments following infection. This calls for focused research on this population to better understand the mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment post-COVID-19. Addressing gaps in the literature, the current study investigated differences in neuropsychological performance and cerebral haemodynamic activity following COVID-19 infection in undergraduate students. 94 undergraduates (age in years: M = 20.58, SD = 3.33, range = 18 to 46; 89 % female) at the University of Otago reported their COVID-19 infection history before completing a neuropsychological battery while wearing a multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) device to record prefrontal haemodynamics. We observed that 40 % retrospectively self-reported cognitive impairment (brain fog) due to COVID-19 and 37 % exhibited objective evidence of cognitive impairment (assessed via computerised testing), with some suggestion that executive functioning may have been particularly affected; however, group-level analyses indicated preserved cognitive performance post COVID-19, which may in part reflect varying compensatory abilities. The NIRS data revealed novel evidence that previously infected students exhibited distinct prefrontal haemodynamic patterns during cognitive engagement, reminiscent of those observed in adults four decades older, and this appeared to be especially true if they reported experiencing brain fog due to COVID-19. These results provide new insights into the potential neuropathogenic mechanisms influencing cognitive impairment following COVID-19.
like I feel like I wanna cry rn because that specifically explains the exact feeling I’ve had that I genuinely feel there is not enough being delivered up there but I wrote it off as ADHD stimulation issues that were just a fact of life beforehand but never like this. now it just kinda feels I’ve been rendered impotent in a way I can’t fix
have you thought about an oxygen mask or oxygen therapy? the cheapest kits i saw on amazon were ~$60. idk if it would fix everything you’re talking about, but some people use them when their lungs aren’t passing enough oxygen to their blood
my first instinct was sleep apnea—which I do in fact have, so I have a CPAP. If there’s some other oxygen therapy I could look into that specifically addresses this sort of issue, I’ll bring it up with my psychiatrist or at my physical
Is that like an oxygen concentrator
Continuous positive airway pressure. Mainly treats apnea, forces you to breathe when you unconsciously stop breathing (not a doctor disclaimer, this is my rough understanding of it)
Nah it just pumps regular air in your mouth/nose to keep your airways open when you sleep (sleep apnea is when those airways close and you stop breathing while asleep).
That doesn’t necessarily fix the brain frog. In ME/CFS the blood oxygen is usually normal, but the amount that gets into the cells is way less. I’m not saying it won’t help and if there’s any research that implies that it does help that’d be awesome. I just don’t want people to get false hope and buy an expensive mask that won’t necessarily fix the issue.