NeuroCOVID-19

Since April 2020, the Graham Lab has been conducting the NeuroCOVID study, which investigates the impact of \"long COVID\" on brain function. The study compares differences in brain regions between individuals with long COVID and healthy controls, tracking changes as symptoms persist and eventually recover.

(A) Significant connections between regions of interest (ROIs) are shown as lines with their colors representing effect strength (BSR); warm colors indicating increased connectivity in the COVID-19 group and cool colors for decreased connectivity. Node size reflects the number of significant connections. (B) A heatmap displays the percentage of significant connections between pairs of lobes, with a ‘*’ indicating significantly elevated connections. (C) A scatterplot shows mean connectivity in regions of significant decrease, comparing COVID-19 and control groups; boxplots represent group means and 95%CIs.

Altered network functional connectivity for individuals with COVID-19 relative to controls (Churchill, et al., 2023).

Long-Haul COVID-19 and the Brain

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, it is clear that many people experience persistent symptoms even after recovering from the virus. These \"long-haul\" symptoms, including fatigue, brain fog, and cognitive and psychiatric complaints, which suggest that COVID-19 is having an impact on brain function. Current literature estimates that hundreds of thousands of Canadians and millions worldwide may suffer from these symptoms, which affect daily activities and quality of life.

In collaboration with the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, the NeuroCOVID19 project aims to assess the neurological effects of long-haul COVID-19 through:

Behavioural assessments of sensation, cognition, and emotion.
Symptom self-reports from participants.
Electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain electrical activity.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine brain structure and function.

If you are interested in becoming a participant in the NeuroCOVID-19 study, please reach out to .

Recent Publications

Feasibility of diffusion‐tensor and correlated diffusion imaging for studying white‐matter microstructural abnormalities: Application in COVID‐19

Teller N, Chad JA, Wong A, Gunraj H, Ji X, Goubran M, Gilboa A, Roudaia E, Sekuler A, Churchill N, Schweizer T, Gao F, Masellis M, Lam B, Heyn C, Cheng I, Fowler R, Black SE, MacIntosh BJ, Graham SJ, Chen JJ. Hum Brain Mapp. 2023 May 10. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26322. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37162380.

Effects of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome on the functional brain networks of non-hospitalized individuals.

Nathan W Churchill, Eugenie Roudaia, J Jean Chen, Asaf Gilboa, Allison Sekuler, Xiang Ji, Fuqiang Gao, Zhongmin Lin, Aravinthan Jegatheesan, Mario Masellis, Maged Goubran, Jennifer S Rabin, Benjamin Lam, Ivy Cheng, Robert Fowler, Chris Heyn, Sandra E Black, Bradley J MacIntosh, Simon J Graham, Tom A Schweizer. Frontiers in Neurology. 2023 Mar 27. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1136408 PMID: 37051059

MRI Assessment of Cerebral Blood Flow in Nonhospitalized Adults Who Self-Isolated Due to COVID-19.

Kim WSH, Ji X, Roudaia E, Chen JJ, Gilboa A, Sekuler A, Gao F, Lin Z, Jegatheesan A, Masellis M, Goubran M, Rabin JS, Lam B, Cheng I, Fowler R, Heyn C, Black SE, Graham SJ, MacIntosh BJ. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2022 Dec 6. doi: 10.1002/jmri.28555. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36472248

Brain structure and function in people recovering from COVID-19 after hospital discharge or self-isolation: a longitudinal observational study protocol.

MacIntosh BJ, Ji X, Chen JJ, Gilboa A, Roudaia E, Sekuler AB, Gao F, Chad JA, Jegatheesan A, Masellis M, Goubran M, Rabin J, Lam B, Cheng I, Fowler R, Heyn C, Black SE, Graham SJ. CMAJ Open. 2021 Nov 30;9(4):E1114-E1119. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20210023. Print 2021 Oct-Dec. PMID: 34848552