COVID-19
Research Papers
A new form of neurotherapy for a patient with anxiety disorder and anomic aphasia after neurosurgery for a ruptured brain aneurysm post-COVID-19
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new, neuromarker-based form of neurotherapy for a patient with anxiety disorders and anomic aphasia after a neurosurgical operation for a ruptured brain aneurysm of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA), detected after COVID-19. CASE REPORT: A 78-year-old right-handed patient, not previously treated for any chronic diseases except stage II hypertension, contracted COVID-19, confirmed by real time RT- PCR. He was treated on an outpatient basis. Two months later, he developed an unusually severe headache and disorientation. A ruptured brain aneurysm of the left MCA was diagnosed. The patient underwent a neurosurgical operation - clipping- very well, with no neurological or neuropsychiatric disorders, except for mild aphasia and occasional anxiety attacks. Four weeks after surgery, anxiety disorder and mild aphasia worsened. High levels of anxiety on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) Scale, and mild anomic aphasia in the Boston Naming Test (BNT) was found. A functional neuromarker of anxiety in comparision to a normative database (Human Brain Index, HBI) was detected. The patient was offered a new, neuromarker-based form of neurotherapy, which proved effective in reducing the disorders. The patient improved in social communication and is gradually returning to social activities. CONCLUSION: In patients with anxiety disorders, anomic aphasia and related difficulties in social functioning after aSAH, especially after COVID-19, multidimensional diagnosis and therapy, preferably based on functional neuromarkers, is needed. HBI methodology can be successfully used in the neurodiagnosis and implementation of individualized neurotherapy for such patients.
View Full Paper →Effect of neurofeedback therapy on neurological post-COVID-19 complications (A pilot study)
OBJECTIVE: Anxiety, fatigue and depression are common neurological manifestations after COVID-19. So far, post-COVID complications were treated by rehabilitation, oxygen therapy and immunotherapy. Effects of neurofeedback on post-COVID complications and their potential interrelatedness have not been studied yet. In this pilot study, we investigated the effectiveness of neurofeedback (Othmer method) for treatment of fatigue, anxiety, and depression after COVID-19. METHODS: 10 participants met inclusion criteria for having positive anamnesis of at least one of the following complications following COVID-19: fatigue, anxiety, and depression which were measured by questionnaires. ANOVA was used for calculating differences in questionnaire score before and after neurofeedback. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to calculate correlations between anxiety, depression and fatigue. RESULTS: After five neurofeedback sessions, there came to significant reduction of severity of post-COVID anxiety and depression persisting for at least one month. Effect of neurofeedback on fatigue was insignificant. Severity of anxiety, fatigue and depression as well as reductions in depression and fatigue were positively correlated with each other. CONCLUSION: These findings showed effectiveness neurofeedback for reducing anxiety and depression after COVID-19 and for studying correlations between neurological complications after COVID-19. However, since our pilot clinical trial was open-label, it is hard to differentiate between neurofeedback-specific and unspecific effects on our participants. Future randomized controlled trials with more robust sample are necessary to investigate feasibility of neurofeedback for post-COVID neurological complications. The study has identification number trial ID ISRCTN49037874 in ISRCTN register of clinical trials (Retrospectively registered).
View Full Paper →Effects of Electroencephalogram Biofeedback on Emotion Regulation and Brain Homeostasis of Late Adolescents in the COVID-19 Pandemic
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of electroencephalogram (EEG) biofeedback training for emotion regulation and brain homeostasis on anxiety about COVID-19 infection, impulsivity, anger rumination, meta-mood, and self-regulation ability of late adolescents in the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic situation. METHODS: A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. The participants included 55 late adolescents in the experimental and control groups. The variables were evaluated using quantitative EEG at pre-post time points in the experimental group. The experimental groups received 10 sessions using the three-band protocol for five weeks. The collected data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, t-test and paired t-test using the SAS 9.3 program. The collected EEG data used a frequency series power spectrum analysis method through fast Fourier transform. RESULTS: Significant differences in emotion regulation between the two groups were observed in the anxiety about COVID-19 infection (W = 585.50, p = .002), mood repair of meta-mood (W = 889.50, p = .024), self-regulation ability (t = -5.02, p < .001), self-regulation mode (t = -4.74, p < .001), and volitional inhibition mode (t = -2.61, p = .012). Neurofeedback training for brain homeostasis was effected on enhanced sensory-motor rhythm (S = 177.00, p < .001) and inhibited theta (S = -166.00, p < .001). CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the potential of EEG biofeedback training as an independent nursing intervention that can markedly improve anxiety, mood-repair, and self-regulation ability for emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
View Full Paper →Possible Mechanisms Underlying Neurological Post-COVID Symptoms and Neurofeedback as a Potential Therapy
Theoretical considerations related to neurological post-COVID complications have become a serious issue in the COVID pandemic. We propose 3 theoretical hypotheses related to neurological post-COVID complications. First, pathophysiological processes responsible for long-term neurological complications caused by COVID-19 might have 2 phases: (1) Phase of acute Sars-CoV-2 infection linked with the pathogenesis responsible for the onset of COVID-19-related neurological complications and (2) the phase of post-acute Sars-CoV-2 infection linked with the pathogenesis responsible for long-lasting persistence of post-COVID neurological problems and/or exacerbation of another neurological pathologies. Second, post-COVID symptoms can be described and investigated from the perspective of dynamical system theory exploiting its fundamental concepts such as system parameters, attractors and criticality. Thirdly, neurofeedback may represent a promising therapy for neurological post-COVID complications. Based on the current knowledge related to neurofeedback and what is already known about neurological complications linked to acute COVID-19 and post-acute COVID-19 conditions, we propose that neurofeedback modalities, such as functional magnetic resonance-based neurofeedback, quantitative EEG-based neurofeedback, Othmer’s method of rewarding individual optimal EEG frequency and heart rate variability-based biofeedback, represent a potential therapy for improvement of post-COVID symptoms.
View Full Paper →Changes in EEG Recordings in COVID-19 Patients as a Basis for More Accurate QEEG Diagnostics and EEG Neurofeedback Therapy: A Systematic Review
Introduction and purpose: The SARS-CoV-2 virus is able to cause abnormalities in the functioning of the nervous system and induce neurological symptoms with the features of encephalopathy, disturbances of consciousness and concentration and a reduced ability to sense taste and smell as well as headaches. One of the methods of detecting these types of changes in COVID-19 patients is an electroencephalogram (EEG) test, which allows information to be obtained about the functioning of the brain as well as diagnosing diseases and predicting their consequences. The aim of the study was to review the latest research on changes in EEG in patients with COVID-19 as a basis for further quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG) diagnostics and EEG neurofeedback training. Description of the state of knowledge: Based on the available scientific literature using the PubMed database from 2020 and early 2021 regarding changes in the EEG records in patients with COVID-19, 17 publications were included in the analysis. In patients who underwent an EEG test, changes in the frontal area were observed. A few patients were not found to be responsive to external stimuli. Additionally, a previously non-emerging, uncommon pattern in the form of continuous, slightly asymmetric, monomorphic, biphasic and slow delta waves occurred. Conclusion: The results of this analysis clearly indicate that the SARS-CoV-2 virus causes changes in the nervous system that can be manifested and detected in the EEG record. The small number of available articles, the small number of research groups and the lack of control groups suggest the need for further research regarding the short and long term neurological effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the need for unquestionable confirmation that observed changes were caused by the virus per se and did not occur before. The presented studies described non-specific patterns appearing in encephalograms in patients with COVID-19. These observations are the basis for more accurate QEEG diagnostics and EEG neurofeedback training.
View Full Paper →EEG NEUROFEEDBACK IN THE TREATMENT OF COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTIONS AFTER THE INFECTION OF SARS-COV-2 AND LONG COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is likely to have long-term mental health effects on individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 can see a range of long-term side effects. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of neurotherapy (EEG neurofeedback and goal-oriented cognitive training) in the treatment of neurocognitive dysfunctions in a patient after the infection of SARS-CoV-2 and the long long-term side effects after the contraction of COVID-19.
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