Brain Stress Mapping in COVID-19 Survivors Using MR Spectroscopy: New Avenue of Mental Health Status Monitoring$

Abstract

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has emerged as a human catastrophe worldwide, and it has impacted human life more detrimentally than the combined effect of World Wars I and II. Various research studies reported that the disease is not confined to the respiratory system but also leads to neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders suggesting that the virus is potent to affect the central nervous system (CNS). Moreover, the damage to CNS may continue to rise even after the COVID-19 infection subsides which may further induce a long-term impact on the brain, resulting in cognitive impairment. Neuroimaging techniques is the ideal platform to detect and quantify pathological manifestations in the brain of COVID-19 survivors. In this context, a scheme based on structural, spectroscopic, and behavioral studies could be executed to monitor the gradual changes in the brain non-invasively due to COVID-19 which may further help in quantifying the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of the survivors. Extensive research is required in this direction for identifying the mechanism and implications of COVID-19 in the brain. Cohort studies are urgently required for monitoring the effects of this pandemic on individuals of various subtypes longitudinally.