Cognitive and Psychological Symptoms in Post-COVID-19 Condition: A Systematic Review of Structural and Functional Neuroimaging, Neurophysiology, and Intervention Studies.
Eva Pettemeridou, Maria Loizidou, Jelena Trajkovic and 6 others
PMID 40980513WHAT IT FOUND
Post-COVID cognitive and mood symptoms are common, but brain tests show inconsistent changes that do not reliably predict impairment.
Brain stimulation and cognitive training gave mixed improvements in small studies, so they are not proven treatments.
Key findings
01Most studies using comprehensive cognitive testing found deficits in people with post-COVID condition, including attention, memory, language, executive function, processing speed, and visuospatial abilities.
02MRI findings alone were not enough to predict cognitive or noncognitive impairment in people with post-COVID condition.
03tDCS trials gave mixed results: one found reduced physical fatigue and depressive symptoms, while another found no clear differences from sham for fatigue or mood.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Studies defined post-COVID condition differently, so the findings may not apply to the same patient group. The review could not combine results statistically because the included studies were too few and too varied. There were few longitudinal studies, so it does not show how symptoms or brain changes change over time. There were few high-quality randomized trials of brain stimulation or cognitive training, so treatment effects remain uncertain. The authors noted possible publication bias because they excluded non-peer-reviewed preprints and non-English studies.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that brain stimulation or cognitive training is an established treatment for post-COVID cognitive or psychological symptoms. The review found mixed results from a small number of heterogeneous trials, and it could not determine which treatment component helped which patient.
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