Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug;123(4):1247-1256.
doi: 10.1007/s13760-023-02291-1. Epub 2023 May 25.

The functional and structural changes in the hippocampus of COVID-19 patients

Ali Nouraeinejad  1
Affiliations
Review

The functional and structural changes in the hippocampus of COVID-19 patients

Ali Nouraeinejad. Acta Neurol Belg. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Since the hippocampus is predominantly susceptible to injuries caused by COVID-19, there are increasing data indicating the likelihood of post-infection memory loss and quickening neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. This is due to the fact that the hippocampus has imperative functions in spatial and episodic memory as well as learning. COVID-19 activates microglia in the hippocampus and induces a CNS cytokine storm, leading to loss of hippocampal neurogenesis. The functional and structural changes in the hippocampus of COVID-19 patients can explain neuronal degeneration and reduced neurogenesis in the human hippocampus. This will open a window to explain memory and cognitive dysfunctions in "long COVID" through the resultant loss of hippocampal neurogenesis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Central nervous system; Hippocampus; Memory; Neurogenesis; Neuroinflammation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Nouraeinejad A. A proposal to apply brain injury recovery treatments for cognitive impairment in COVID-19 survivors. Int J Neurosci. 2022 doi: 10.1080/00207454.2022.2084091. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nouraeinejad A. Visuospatial impairment is of concern in patients with COVID-19. Int J Neurosci. 2022;7:1–2. doi: 10.1080/00207454.2022.2145474. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nouraeinejad A. The pathological mechanisms underlying brain fog or cognitive impairment in long COVID. Int J Neurosci. 2022;21:1–4. doi: 10.1080/00207454.2022.2150845. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nouraeinejad A. The potential risk of falling among COVID-19 survivors with cognitive impairment. Brain Inj. 2023;37(1):85–86. doi: 10.1080/02699052.2022.2144948. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nouraeinejad A. Brain fog as a Long-term Sequela of COVID-19. SN Compr Clin Med. 2023;5(1):9. doi: 10.1007/s42399-022-01352-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed