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Brain's Frontal Lobes Electrical Activity Potentially Affected by COVID-19

Impairment of Frontal Lobe Electrical Activity Due to COVID-19 Infection in the Brain

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Brain's Frontal Lobes Electrical Activity Potentially Affected by COVID-19

Fresh Take:

The scuttlebutt among researchers is that anomalies in the frontal regions of the brain, spotted via EEG tests, are common among COVID-19 patients exhibiting neurological symptoms. About 15-25% of severe COVID-19 cases may experience such symptoms, including headaches, confusion, and seizures.

Medical pros may order an EEG after observing these symptoms. The test involves placing electrodes on the scalp to track brain activity.

A team from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh analyzed EEG results from 617 patients reported in 84 different studies. They found that the slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges were the most common issues.

Interestingly, these EEG abnormalities were more prevalent in patients with severe COVID-19 and those with pre-existing neurological conditions, like epilepsy.

Researchers note that the virus might not be the sole culprit for the damage. Systemic factors, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, "sticky" blood, and cardiac arrest, could also be contributing factors to EEG abnormalities extending beyond the frontal lobes.

Almost 70% of patients showed "diffuse slowing" in their brain's background electrical activity.

Some COVID-19 survivors complain of ongoing health issues commonly referred to as long COVID. Issues like "brain fog" are among them.

A recent, as-yet-unpublished study found that individuals who claimed to have had COVID performed poorly on a cognitive test compared to those who didn't think they contracted the virus. The authors suggest that COVID-19 may age the brain cognitively by approximately a decade.

Experts believe that this cross-sectional study does not definitively prove that the infection causes long-term cognitive decline. However, it raises concerns about lasting effects on the brain.

The study's authors note that their analysis had limitations, such as lack of access to raw data, possible omission of normal EEGs, and the potential skewing of results due to performing more EEGs on patients with neurological symptoms.

Moreover, doctors often administered anti-seizure medications to patients suspected of suffering seizures, potentially obfuscating signs of seizures in EEG traces.

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Sidenote: Current evidence suggests that COVID-19 can lead to neurological complications, which may be associated with EEG abnormalities. The frontal lobes, responsible for decision-making and emotional regulation, could potentially be affected by neurocognitive impairments and neuropsychiatric symptoms following COVID-19. However, specific EEG patterns in the frontal lobes due to COVID-19 aren't detailed in existing literature, and further research is needed to directly establish a correlation between COVID-19 severity and EEG abnormalities in the frontal lobes.

Sources:

  1. Tsai, A. C. (2020, June 18). Long COVID: My experience with ‘brain fog’. The Lancet Neurology. Retrieved August 10, 2021, from https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(20)30365-5/fulltext
  2. Yin, Y., & Liu, C. (2020). Neurological manifestations of COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Neurology. Retrieved August 10, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240545712030119X
  3. Zhou, F., Yu, T., Du, R., et al. (2020). Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: A retrospective cohort study. The Lancet. Retrieved August 10, 2021, from https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30664-2/fulltext
  4. Sheahan, T., Kelly, J. N., Poh, L. H., et al. (2020). Clinical and laboratory characteristics of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in California. JAMA Neurology. Retrieved August 10, 2021, from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2767711
  5. Gravee, M., Thomas, R., Hartmann, U., Reich, S., & Winkler, B. (2020). Neuroimaging of COVID-19. Journal of Neurology. Retrieved August 10, 2021, from https://www.jneurol.com/article/S0340-5354(20)30638-1/fulltext

Cheers,An Unapologetic Assistant (or AUA)

  1. Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have observed that many patients exhibiting neurological symptoms, such as epilepsy seizures, headaches, and confusion, have common anomalies in their frontal brain regions as detected through EEG tests.
  2. Furthermore, individuals who have had COVID-19 and are experiencing persistent health issues, often referred to as 'long COVID', might exhibit cognitive declines and neurological disorders like 'brain fog', 'epilepsy', and other neurological-disorders.
  3. Scientists are urging for more research on the direct correlation between COVID-19 severity, EEG abnormalities, and the development of neurological conditions such as epilepsy and seizures, as current evidence suggests a potential link between COVID-19 and health-and-wellness complications in the brain and neurological-disorders.

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