#32: COVID and Executive Functioning

Executive Function Brain Trainer Podcast

This episode explores the impact COVID can have on Executive functions. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), continued long term physical and cognitive symptoms may impact as many as 1 in 5 adult survivors of the illness.

Study 1: The Lancet reported on a study: “Cognitive deficits in people that have recovered from covid-19”

Cognitive problems have been reported:

• Attention
• Memory, the ability to learn, store, retain, and later retrieve information.
• Executive function skills such as planning, focusing attention, remembering instructions, and juggling multiple tasks.

Study 2: Journal of Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health: “Cognitive function following SARS-CoV-2 infection in a population-representative Canadian sample”

• Young and middle-aged adults who had COVID reported lingering symptoms of executive dysfunction based on self-reported and task-related indicators of cognitive function.
• Moderate or higher COVID-19 symptom severity are associated with significant symptoms of cognitive dysfunction

Study 3: Nature Medicine: “Long Term Neurologic Outcomes for COVID -19”

• Neurological conditions occurred in 7% more people with COVID-19 compared with those who had not been infected with the virus.

People who had COVID-19 were:

• 43% more likely to develop mental health disorders
• 35% more likely to experience mild to severe headaches
• 30% more likely to have eye problems such as blurred vision, dryness and retinal inflammation
• 22% more likely to develop hearing abnormalities such as tinnitus or ringing in the ears.
• vaccines slightly reduce — by about 20% — the risk of long-term brain problems.

Effect on Executive functions

• Trouble with memory – Working Memory
• Constantly distracted - Inhibitory Control
• Rigid thinking - Cognitive Flexibility

Study 4: Study: “Assessment of Cognitive Function in Patients After COVID-19 Infection” This study looked at predominant hospitalized patients and found a relatively high frequency of cognitive impairment several months after patients contracted COVID-19 in the areas of

• executive functioning
• processing speed
• category fluency
• memory encoding
• recall

Study 5: At Harvard: “Rapid vigilance and episodic memory decrements in COVID-19 survivors”

Study revealed some long-term positive outcomes for those that experienced EF problems.

• Recovery in memory within six months
• Improvement in attention within nine months
• Suggesting that some cognitive impairments with COVID, even if widespread, are potentially reversible.

Links:

• Cognitive function following SARS-CoV-2 infection in a population-representative Canadian sample https://tinyurl.com/2p8av6wr
• Assessment of Cognitive Function in Patients After COVID-19 Infection https://tinyurl.com/nf56m34v
• Rapid vigilance and episodic memory decrements in COVID-19 survivors https://tinyurl.com/6r29ndya
• COVID-19 infections increase risk of long-term brain problems https://tinyurl.com/y2ersef3
• The Lancet reported “Cognitive deficits in people that have recovered from covid-19” https://tinyurl.com/6tbmj8tk
• Learning Specialist Courses:https://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/
• Good Sensory Learning: https://goodsensorylearning.com/

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