ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic is a significant psychological stressor in addition to its tremendous impact on every facet of individuals' lives and organizations in virtually all social and economic sectors worldwide. Fear of illness and uncertainty about the future precipitate anxiety- and stress-related disorders, and several groups have rightfully called for the creation and dissemination of robust mental health screening and treatment programs for the general public and front-line healthcare workers. However, in addition to pandemic-associated psychological distress, the direct effects of the virus itself (several acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2), and the subsequent host immunologic response, on the human central nervous system (CNS) and related outcomes are unknown. We discuss currently available evidence of COVID-19 related neuropsychiatric sequelae while drawing parallels to past viral pandemic-related outcomes. Past pandemics have demonstrated that diverse types of neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as encephalopathy, mood changes, psychosis, neuromuscular dysfunction, or demyelinating processes, may accompany acute viral infection, or may follow infection by weeks, months, or longer in recovered patients. The potential mechanisms are also discussed, including viral and immunological underpinnings. Therefore, prospective neuropsychiatric monitoring of individuals exposed to SARS-CoV-2 at various points in the life course, as well as their neuroimmune status, are needed to fully understand the long-term impact of COVID-19, and to establish a framework for integrating psychoneuroimmunology into epidemiologic studies of pandemics.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/psychology , Cytokine Release Syndrome/psychology , Mental Disorders/psychology , Nervous System Diseases/psychology , Pneumonia, Viral/psychology , Acute Disease , Anxiety/etiology , Anxiety/immunology , Anxiety/psychology , Bacterial Translocation , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Chronic Disease , Coronavirus Infections/complications , Coronavirus Infections/immunology , Coronavirus Infections/therapy , Cytokine Release Syndrome/immunology , Cytokine Release Syndrome/therapy , Demyelinating Diseases/etiology , Demyelinating Diseases/immunology , Demyelinating Diseases/physiopathology , Demyelinating Diseases/psychology , Depression/etiology , Depression/immunology , Depression/psychology , Humans , Immunologic Factors/adverse effects , Mental Disorders/etiology , Mental Disorders/immunology , Mental Health , Nervous System Diseases/etiology , Nervous System Diseases/immunology , Nervous System Diseases/physiopathology , Neurodegenerative Diseases/etiology , Neurodegenerative Diseases/immunology , Neurodegenerative Diseases/physiopathology , Neurodegenerative Diseases/psychology , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/complications , Pneumonia, Viral/immunology , Pneumonia, Viral/therapy , Psychoneuroimmunology , Psychotic Disorders/etiology , Psychotic Disorders/immunology , Psychotic Disorders/psychology , Public Health , SARS-CoV-2 , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/etiology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/immunology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychologyABSTRACT
The viral hypothesis for schizophrenia has persisted for decades, initially supported by observed increases in psychoses subsequent to the influenza pandemic of the early twentieth century, and then later by evidence of elevated viral antibody titres particularly in schizophrenia patient populations. Several research studies have also focused on maternal infections during the second trimester of pregnancy and their long-term effects on fetal brain development, ultimately leading to schizophrenia. No specific virus has been implicated although a handful have received increasing attention. The current pandemic spreading the SARS CoV-2 corona virus world-wide is now showing anecdotal evidence of psychoses newly developing post viral exposure, implicating neuronal inflammation in crucial areas of the brain that could initiate psychotic symptoms. Time will tell if epidemiological data will, similar to the 1918 influenza pandemic, show that schizophrenia spectrum disorders increase after serious viral infections.