Changes in EEG Recordings in COVID-19 Patients as a Basis for More Accurate QEEG Diagnostics and EEG Neurofeedback Therapy: A Systematic Review.

Marta Kopańska,Agnieszka Banaś-Ząbczyk,Anna Łagowska,Jacek Szczygielski,Barbara Kuduk

doi:10.3390/jcm10061300

Marta Kopańska, Agnieszka Banaś-Ząbczyk + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10061300

Copy DOI

Abstract

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.

Highlights

IntroductionAre the methods of assessing the electrical activity of the cerebral cortex [1]. Spatial and temporal alterations in neural voltages recorded in the form of classical EEG waves may be further analyzed as to the percentage of different frequency spectra of electrical activity
Introduction and purposeThe 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
Checking whether the EEG record in patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus manifests changes in the form of a new, unprecedented pattern

Summary

Introduction

Are the methods of assessing the electrical activity of the cerebral cortex [1]. Spatial and temporal alterations in neural voltages recorded in the form of classical EEG waves may be further analyzed as to the percentage of different frequency spectra of electrical activity. An EEG/QEEG offers the unique opportunity to observe how different pathogens, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, affect the human nervous system and interfere with the function of the neuronal network during the disease and to state whether these changes in the brain are only transient or rather leave a stigma even after recovery from infection [6,7,8,9] This chance to gain knowledge about the exact effects of the virus on the body as well as about its entire spectrum of action may be taken in order to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 related disturbances of brain function. Accurate QEEG diagnostics may create a solid basis for considering the regular use of EEG biofeedback therapy as an individual treatment form for those patients in whom neurologic COVID-19 sequelae closely resemble the symptoms of the above-mentioned conditions where QEEG neurofeedback has already been successfully used

Literature Review

Conclusions

Results