Study: Can a mild case of COVID-19 change your brain?

Editor's Note

Those who experience anxiety and depression months after a mild case of COVID-19 may have brain changes that affect its function and structure, finds a study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Meeting in April.

The study, by researchers at the University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil, involved 254 participants who had a mild case of COVID-19 an average of 3 months earlier. Of those, 102 had symptoms of anxiety and depression, and 152 had no symptoms.

Brain scans of participants with anxiety and depression showed shrinkage in the limbic area of the brain, which plays a role in memory and emotional processing. Brain scans of participants without anxiety and depression and 148 controls, who did not have COVID-19 infection, showed no brain shrinkage.

An analysis of brain function and changes in connectivity (how the brain communicates) between areas of the brain in 84 participants without symptoms, 70 participants with symptoms of anxiety and depression, and 90 controls found that the group with symptoms had widespread functional changes in each of the 12 networks that were tested. Participants without symptoms had changes in only five networks.

The findings suggest a severe pattern of changes in how the brain communicates and its structure, specifically in those with long COVID symptoms of anxiety and depression. Because the magnitude of these changes could lead to problems with memory and thinking skills, holistic treatments should be explored for those even mildly affected by COVID-19, the authors say.