The University of Gdańsk (UG) in cooperation with the Medical University of Gdańsk (MUG) is starting research on people who have had COVID-19 and suffer from health deficits as a consequence of this disease. Scientists, under the supervision of Dr Michał Harciarek, University of Gdańsk, will check whether COVID-19 actually leaves a mark on the cognitive functioning of convalescents.

Dr Harciarek intends to investigate whether the health deficits resulting from the disease of COVID-19 appear in every recovering person, whether they regress, increase or maybe some new ones appear? He will also examine the dynamics of the functioning of people who have suffered from the coronavirus and check whether the problems observed in them may indicate a negative impact of this disease on the functioning of the right hemisphere of the brain.

The project will focus on the right hemisphere of the brain. It is responsible to a greater extent for non-verbal activities related to the management of visual attention. Its anterior areas seem to be particularly sensitive to Covid disease-related hypoxia or decreased body efficiency. Also, these areas are involved in the processes of spending energy in the human body.

According to Dr Harciarek, many chronic diseases affect the nervous system that is associated with the expenditure of energy.

“It is like the situation when a person wakes up early in the morning and does not have the strength to get up, is a bit “foggy”. The question is whether this so-called covid fog is not a result of neuropsychological changes. We will check whether patients have a problem with this morning rush, or whether they are tired more than people who did not suffer from the coronavirus. We want to evaluate attention processes and check to what extent those troubles may be typical for the pathology of the right hemisphere of the brain and how much the given group is diverse in terms of functioning”, says Dr Harciarek.

The project is addressed mainly at people who suffered the coronavirus no earlier than six months ago and, as a result, faced certain dysfunctions. The Institute of Psychology of the University of Gdańsk will conduct neuropsychological, mainly computer tests, measuring executive functions. These functions are mental activities used to relate to the human environment, work, create, control time or, for example, motivation. Attention functions will also be tested, such as vigilance, selectivity and the ability to perform several activities at the same time.

The aim of the project is not only to characterize possible dysfunctions occurring in convalescents but also to check how long they persist. Therefore, all who will take part in the first stage of the research will be re-examined after about a year.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński