People who have had the crown can experience permanent cognitive impairment. Memory seems less affected than other features.
The corona can cause permanent brain problems, such as reduced concentration and a decline in thinking ability. This is now generally accepted in science. Memory, however, appears to be the least affected of all cognitive functions.
Most of the previous studies examining the cognitive effects of the crown tests used to assess dementia. “These do not provide accurate measurements, nor do they actually measure the variety of brain function,” says neuroscientist Conor Wild of Western University in Ontario, Canada.
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To make a better analysis, Wild and his colleagues used a cognitive assessment tool which was developed by brain scientists at the British University of Cambridge. This online test measures cognition using twelve tasks in five domains: reasoning, verbal processing, memory, processing speed, and general cognition.
Aged young
The researchers asked 478 adults who had had the crown to complete the test. Participants tested positive between one week and nine months before the start of the study. It is not known whether the participants were given the crown one or more times. About 14% said they ended up in hospital due to the disease.
The researchers compared the scores of these participants with those of 7,832 people who had taken the test before the pandemic. They found that people who had had the crown had significantly lower overall cognitive scores on average. Their decline was equivalent to the cognitive decline that occurs with the age of 4.5, Wild says. People who had been seriously ill had the worst scores. But people with a mild course of the disease were also less cognitively strong.
Memory saved?
Covid-19 appears to affect some brain functions more than others. Processing speed was most affected. If you compare the scores of the coronary patients in that area with those of the control group, it was as if the people who tested positive had on average become “aged” due to their disease, Wild says. Verbal processing and reasoning scores were also significantly lower in those who had Covid-19.
Surprisingly, the researchers found no significant differences in memory functioning. In previous studies, it appeared that memory was deteriorating due to a covid infection.
“Memory is a kind of umbrella term that encompasses a number of different types of memory,” says Wild. He says the assessment tool used in this study is more focused on measuring short-term memory. This could explain the difference with previous studies.
Sleep problems
By identifying which aspects of cognition are affected by Covid-19, we can long covid understand better, says neuroscientist Frederic Meunier of the University of Queensland in Australia. Furthermore, we may also be able to develop better treatments for the disease.
For example, previous research has shown that people who don’t get enough sleep have similar problems: reduced processing capacity and general cognition, but intact memory. This could indicate that the effects of Covid-19 are somehow related to the broken nights.
Compare one to one
A note on research is that it compared the scores of coronary patients with scores from before the pandemic. As a result, researchers cannot say for sure that the differences are due to the disease. The stress of a global pandemic could also play a role, Wild says.
‘What we’re working on right now is watching [op individueel niveau]: How people’s cognition after the crown compares to their cognition before the pandemic, ”he says.
