Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on education. The restrictions imposed have undoubtedly led to impairment of the psychological well-being of both teachers and students, and of the way they experience interpersonal relationships. As reported previously in the literature, adverse effects such as loneliness, anxiety, and stress have resulted in a decrease in the cognitive performance of school and higher education students. Therefore, the objective of this work is to present a general overview of the reported adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which may potentially influence the learning performance of students. Some neuroscientific findings related to memory and cognition, such as neuroplasticity and long-term potentiation, are also shown. We also discuss the positive effects of the practice of mindfulness, as well as other simple recommendations based on neuroscientific findings such as restful sleep, physical activity, and nutrition, which can act on memory and cognition. Finally, we propose some practical recommendations on how to achieve more effective student learning in the context of the pandemic. The aim of this review is to provide some assistance in this changing and uncertain situation in which we all find ourselves, and we hope that some of the information could serve as a starting point for hypotheses to be tested in educational research and their association with neuroscience.
Highlights
For everyone today, 19 December 2020 will be an unforgettable date
The considerations, reflections, and guidelines presented in this work are not an absolute solution to the learning problems associated with the mental health challenges facing students in the pandemic; rather, it is our intention to contribute some possible interventions and strategies drawn from neuroscience that could be applied, or that could serve as a basis for studies to explore alterations in students cognitive capacities resulting from the pandemic
Foods have been shown to influence the plasticity of the central nervous system and its ability to recover from injury [109], as reported by [110]. These authors carried out an extensive review of how omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, caloric intake, and the combined effects of diet and physical activity can influence the cognitive function of our brains, increasing resistance and facilitating synaptic transmission in neurons; they are very important for health, since a good diet favours the presence of molecules that play an active role in metabolism and in synaptic plasticity [110]
Summary
19 December 2020 will be an unforgettable date. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the respiratory disease. The considerations, reflections, and guidelines presented in this work are not an absolute solution to the learning problems associated with the mental health challenges facing students in the pandemic; rather, it is our intention to contribute some possible interventions and strategies drawn from neuroscience that could be applied, or that could serve as a basis for studies to explore alterations in students cognitive capacities resulting from the pandemic. They may assist teachers and parents seeking how best to support students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, or in possible future stress situations
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