#disorders that specifically has issues with that

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

by Eric W. Dolan

A new study published in Scientific Reports sheds light on long-term neurological consequences of COVID-19. Researchers found that individuals who had anosmia (the loss of smell) during COVID-19 showed alterations in brain functionality and even physical structure during recovery. This study is among the first to link COVID-19-related loss of smell to significant brain changes.

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been primarily known for its impact on the respiratory system. However, over time, many patients, even those with mild cases, reported cognitive issues such as memory problems, confusion, and difficulties with concentration, which raised concerns about the virus’s effects on the brain. Neurological symptoms like headaches, brain fog, and loss of smell emerged as common issues for COVID-19 survivors.

Anosmia, the loss of smell, became one of the earliest and most recognizable symptoms of COVID-19, often occurring suddenly. While most patients recovered their sense of smell after a few weeks, some experienced longer-lasting olfactory dysfunctions. Previous research also suggested that loss of smell could signal broader neurological involvement in diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Given the commonality of anosmia in COVID-19 and its potential implications for brain health, the researchers sought to explore whether loss of smell during COVID-19 was associated with any measurable brain changes in recovering patients.

“Our laboratory studies the neurobiological mechanisms underlying complex social behavior and decision-making. During the pandemic, it was very challenging to halt our experimental activities due to health restrictions,” said study author Pablo Billeke of the Center for Research in Social Complexity at the University for Development in Chile.

“In this context and given the early reports of neurological symptoms in patients affected by COVID-19, we wanted to contribute from our unique perspective to understanding the potential damage caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection in the central nervous system. This led us to initiate this study, in which we evaluated recovered COVID-19 patients using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging while they performed decision-making and cognitive control tasks, as well as tracking their evolution with electroencephalography.”

To investigate these possible brain changes, the research team recruited 100 adults in Santiago, Chile, who had recovered from respiratory infections between February 2020 and May 2023. The final sample included 73 participants who had confirmed cases of COVID-19 (the remaining participants had respiratory infections caused by other agents, as confirmed by multiple negative PCR tests). The team used a combination of tests and brain scans across two sessions to assess these participants’ brain function and structure.

The participants ranged in age from 19 to 65, and none had severe cases of COVID-19 that required ventilators or intensive care. The study specifically excluded anyone with neuropsychiatric disorders or severe brain injuries, ensuring that the observed effects could be linked to their infection rather than prior conditions.

In behavioral tests, participants with a history of anosmia displayed more impulsive decision-making compared to those who did not lose their sense of smell. These individuals tended to change their choices more rapidly after receiving negative feedback, particularly in tasks requiring them to learn and adapt to changing probabilities of rewards. While this impulsivity led to higher earnings in decision-making tasks that involved rapidly shifting conditions, it also highlighted an alteration in how their brains processed rewards and risks.

Functionally, patients with a history of anosmia showed decreased brain activity during decision-making tasks in regions associated with evaluating choices, including the lateral prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal regions.

On the structural side, brain scans showed thinning in specific regions of the brain in participants with a history of anosmia. Most notably, these changes were observed in the parietal areas of the brain, which are responsible for processing sensory information and managing spatial awareness. The thinning in these areas could indicate long-term structural changes in the brain caused by the virus in individuals who experienced loss of smell.

Additionally, these participants exhibited decreased white matter integrity, particularly in white matter tracts that connect important brain regions. White matter plays a crucial role in facilitating communication between different parts of the brain, and disruptions in these connections could lead to a range of cognitive impairments.

“In the current context, where we know that a significant percentage of the population has contracted COVID-19 at some point, it is crucial to identify the factors that may make certain individuals more susceptible to developing brain alterations after infection,” Billeke told PsyPost. “Our study found that individuals who lost their sense of smell during the acute infection exhibited detectable changes in brain structure and showed a particular pattern in decision-making tasks involving learning.”

“Specifically, they made more impulsive decisions when the environmental context changed. While this may not necessarily have long-term consequences, it could serve as an early marker to monitor individuals who experienced loss of smell, helping to determine whether they are more susceptible to developing neurodegenerative alterations. This is particularly relevant when other risk factors, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and genetic predisposition, are present, all of which are linked to the development of neurodegenerative diseases.”

Interestingly, these brain changes were less pronounced in patients with more severe respiratory symptoms, such as those requiring hospitalization, suggesting that anosmia might be a more reliable indicator of neurological involvement than respiratory symptom severity.

“What surprised us the most was how consistent the findings were in patients with anosmia compared to other patients, regardless of the severity of their respiratory symptoms,” Billeke said. “These individuals exhibited detectable alterations at the behavioral level and in brain function and structure, affecting white matter and gray matter.”

While the study provides valuable insights, it has limitations. First, it relied on self-reported symptoms of anosmia and used the KOR test, a validated screening tool for olfactory deficits associated with COVID-19, to confirm the presence of olfactory dysfunction. More objective and comprehensive clinical assessments would provide stronger evidence.

Additionally, the study lacked baseline brain scans from before the participants contracted COVID-19. This makes “it difficult to establish a direct causal relationship between the infection and our findings,” Billeke explained. “However, when considered alongside the current body of evidence from other studies that have used databases or tracked individuals for different reasons, we can determine that the virus does indeed cause alterations at the neural level.”

“Thus, the correlations we found can be viewed in existing literature as potential evidence of a causal link between the virus and the observed effects. However, the exact mechanism by which the virus produces this damage at the brain level is still under investigation.”

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to follow up with these participants over time to see if the observed brain changes persist or if they affect daily life. They also aim to explore potential therapies, such as brain stimulation techniques, to help those experiencing lingering cognitive and neurological effects after COVID-19.

“We aim to identify the oscillatory patterns related to these alterations, which is the focus of our ongoing electroencephalography (EEG) studies,” Billeke said. “The data are currently being analyzed. By identifying these altered oscillatory patterns, we hope to develop brain stimulation therapies that could help alleviate these symptoms, such as transcranial electrical or magnetic stimulation.”

“I would like to extend my gratitude to all the participants who voluntarily came to the study for all their sessions and to all the researchers who worked tirelessly, especially during the most challenging times of the pandemic lockdown,” Billeke added.

The study: “Patients recovering from COVID-19 who presented with anosmia during their acute episode have behavioral, functional, and structural brain alterations,” was authored by Leonie Kausel, Alejandra Figueroa-Vargas, Francisco Zamorano, Ximena Stecher, Mauricio Aspé-Sánchez, Patricio Carvajal-Paredes, Victor Márquez-Rodríguez, María Paz Martínez-Molina, Claudio Román, Patricio Soto-Fernández, Gabriela Valdebenito-Oyarzo, Carla Manterola, Reinaldo Uribe-San-Martín, Claudio Silva, Rodrigo Henríquez-Ch, Francisco Aboitiz, Rafael Polania, Pamela Guevara, Paula Muñoz-Venturelli, Patricia Soto-Icaza, and Pablo Billeke. www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-69772-y

[de4dskunk]

one man might find me ugly but so many women call me pretty and cute :3

[spider-man-2o99]

(shaking you, wailing, frothing at the mouth, etc.) miguel is a heavily-traumatized person and. like. i really just cannot stress enough that that influences just So Much Of How He Acts, man.

[theygender]

The more I think about it the more I really feel like the recently coined term mesosex might fit me and it's been shared by several intersex education/advocacy blogs I follow now so I know there's support for the term but I'm still like. Scared I would be Intruding™ on intersex issues if I started using it. Like I mean. I'm an afab & (afaik) perisex person with a reproductive disorder that's likely caused by a (non-intersex) hormone imbalance which I'm now essentially having to take feminizing HRT to fix, and as a result I'm now growing tits and undergoing female-pattern fat redistribution at the age of 25 after years of having little to no secondary sex characteristics. I've always identified with intersex issues but now that I'm essentially having to undergo HRT to make my body match my asab that connection to intersex issues feels even stronger. And like that's what the term is for. But my anxiety is still like "but what if you're intruding tho" lol 🙃

[merrysithmas]

tw eating disorder

jtk headcanon that after tarsus jim struggles with an eating disorder resulting from his guilt over food/where it comes from/its sustainability/survivor's guilt.

[felidthing]

i feel its important to mention that i have absolutely no history of violence or even threats. i have a long history of angry notes and emails mostly from like ages 13-16. but ive literally never attacked anyone and never even been in a goddamn fight. like i know death threats are serious but i would hope that a first time not even specific offense would give you maybe Some fucking pause before going whole hog and preparing a restraining order

[cum-villain]

i wonder how many people on fad diets like paleo or keto are people with digestive disorders and such that aren't given a diagnosis or anything to help them with the genuine food issues they have.

[unityrain24]

oil pastel (mainly) on paper

i'm actually really proud of how this turned out!!!

I used oil pastels, a bit of gold-coloured calligraphy ink, and a little bit of graphite can be seen on one of the arms.

It has been a while since i have fully finished a piece, and even longer (perhaps even years) since i've completed one fully out of my own accord (as opposed to like, for an art class). So for me to sit down and complete this in one sitting??? Absolutely astounding. I have not been able to do that in many years.

This was a mix of a colour-lighting study, anatomy study/practice, and pastel practice. And i think i did wonderfully in all three aspects!!!!!! I'm so so happy with how it turned out, i'm proud!! It's so rare i get to feel this way now.

Also. I know i drew a nude person, but i didn't draw it, like, sexually? And it's that way for a lot of things with me. I might draw someone nude, but not to be sexual, and it honestly upsets me when i think about the fact that people will probably look at those drawing and think/feel sexual things towards it? Which, I know i have no control over, but. I just wish our bodies didn't have to be so sexualized :(

[maxellminidisc]

Jesus, physically/visibly disabled folks really makes posts on here specifically highlighting their experiences as hypervisible targets of ableism and neurodivergent people who aren't physically/visibly disabled dogpile on them like crazy for not being included; even to the point of calling them ableist HELLO?? Like not every post has to be for you if you don't experience the specific thing being spoken about and people being understandably angry that you keep derailing their conversation isn't ableist or phobic. Plus op of the post that's getting dogpiled on said she too has autism/adhd along with being physically disabled and psychotic (which is the specific experience they're talking about); she's clearly talking about derailment from neurodivergent people who are not physically/visibly disabled and don't require higher levels of help/assistance or are NOT "noticeably" neurodivergent to neurotypical society.

[imaginaryskeleton]

James Potter and Remus Lupin are so autistic they just like me fr

[binders-and-beanies]

ED tw in da tags i just need 2 vent

[h377b7iss]

.

[ranvwoop]

i am going to be so vulnerable in public for just a second. literally just for lack of therapy and for the love of psuedoanonymity except. it isn't really

[stylonuridae]

begging the edgy girlbloggers of the universe to stop casually reducing words and phrases deeply associated with mental health struggles as catch-all terms for being emotional. you are not 'delulu' you are fully fucking self-aware of your emotions and are just embarrassed by them

[jvzebel-x]

🦋

[aplpaca]

thinking about how I've seen OCD get talked about now, but haven't really seen many posts that actually explain what it is. And like, obviously people shouldn't get all their info about mental conditions from posts, but u can't deny that internet communities and stuff play a major role in people recognizing and putting names to their own experiences.

But like since the general public has like absolutely no idea of what OCD actually is (no thanks to popular media), and a lot of things I see talking about intrusive thoughts don't mention OCD (either bc they originated in OCD circles or bc intrusive thoughts aren't Exclusive to OCD or for some other reason), there should prob be more explanation put out on what OCD actually consists of.

Which is kinda hard in some ways, bc there are so many ways OCD can present in terms of what "themes" a person experiences, so someone talking about what their themes are might not ring a bell with someone who experiences different ones. But like, the core thing with OCD isn't the presence of certain themes, it's a specific pattern of spiraling thoughts and reactions.

Like. OCD is a mental condition/illness where people experience stressful, unwanted, repetitive thoughts. These are intrusive thoughts are what make up the "obsessions" part of the disorder. In response to these intrusive thoughts, a lot of people will perform certain actions or think certain things in an attempt to neutralize or disprove the threat they represent. These are the "compulsions" part of the condition.

For a more "traditional" example, someone experiencing intrusive thoughts that they might catch a communicable disease may obsessively wash their hands or google their symptoms to try to lessen the anxiety. While someone who is worried they might hurt someone (even though they very much do not want to hurt someone) may avoid being near sharp objects or may avoid the people they're afraid of hurting.

One of the issues with OCD is that performing the compulsions provides short term relief, but in the long term it only strengthens the stress caused by the intrusive thoughts, thus furthering the thought spiral and actively making it worse, to the point where, depending on your themes, you may be (almost) convinced that your intrusive thoughts represent the truth or the inevitable or something permanent.

Intrusive thought themes cam be literally anything, but some of the common ones are stuff like

Questioning your sexuality, gender, etc (what if I'm actually straight/gay/bi/trans/cis/etc?)

Being worried about losing control and hurting yourself or others physically, sexually, emotionally, basically any way (what if I want to kill someone? What if I'm a pedophile? What if I'm an abuser? What if I want to stab myself? Etc)

Fear of becoming or being sick

Worrying something bad will happen to you or people you care about

Worrying about your spiritual beliefs or lack thereof (what if I'm actually Christian? What if I'm actually atheist? What if i don't believe in the faith i ascribe to? Etc)

Worrying about relationship status (what if I don't actually love them? What if they're not "the one"? What if they're cheating? What if *I'm* cheating? Etc)

What if I'm a bad person?

Fear of losing things

Fear of things not feeling right (this is often be related to other themes via magical thinking. ex: if I don't have my things organized Just Right then something bad will happen)

Fear of unreality

Compulsions vary by theme a lot obviously, but some common ones include

Hand washing

Organizing things until they Feel Right

Checking and double checking and triple checking to make sure you did something correctly

Obsessively reviewing your memories to disprove a thoughtor make sure you don't believe something

Arguing against the thoughts in an attempt to disprove them

Testing your mental reactions to a thought or to certain kinds of content, to show yourself you don't actually believe or feel something

Obsessively googling symptoms, testimonies, things related to your thoughts

Obsessive prayer

Repeating phrases, mantras, affirmations, etc in an attempt to make thoughts go away

Avoiding things and situations that set off your intrusive thoughts

Repeatedly asking for reassurance from others ("I'm not being xyz, right?")

But yeah this obviously isn't exhaustive but, just, if this kind of thing sounds familiar, you should probably do some research on OCD, bc while intrusive thoughts can occur with other conditions, the intrusive thought-compulsion spiral is the core of OCD and isn't really a subaspect of depression/anxiety/ptsd/etc. and the treatment and management of OCD can look different from other stuff, so its a good thing to look into.

(Also it's important to keep in mind, esp if you're someone that doesn't have it, that someone's intrusive thoughts Are Not "secret desires" or "repressed urges" or anything the person even remotely wants to act on. Someone having harm-related intrusive thoughts is not at risk of actually acting on them, no matter how worried they are of doing so.)

Anyway this was a long post and I don't have a neat way to wrap it up and also I accidentally added a poll and now can't get rid of it so here's free poll. I'm running on nyquil and a small amount of straight gin (which works very well at numbing a sore throat) rn gnite