Cognitive dysfunction 1 year after COVID-19: evidence from eye tracking, Carbone et al, 2022

Increasing evidence suggests persistent cognitive dysfunction after COVID-19. In this cross-sectional study, frontal lobe function was assessed 12 months after the acute phase of the disease, using tailored eye tracking assessments.

Individuals who recovered from COVID-19 made significantly more errors in all eye tracking tasks compared to age/sex-matched healthy controls. Furthermore, patients who were treated as inpatients performed worse compared to outpatients and controls.

Our results show impaired inhibitory cortical control in individuals who recovered from COVID-19. The association between disease severity and its sequelae may contribute to a better understanding of post-COVID-19 cognitive function.

Open access: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/acn3.51675

 

Of note:

“We found no correlation with MoCA subscores and saccadic performance, possibly due to a ceiling effect. The MoCA is a rapid cognitive screening tool, and our patients had normal scores.”

The MoCA is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test.

A limitation of the study is that inpatients, and older patients, had more pronounced eye tracking impairments than outpatients. I am not sure how well it would translate to ME-like long Covid.