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The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the coronavirus infection on clinical, neurophysiological and neuroimmunological parameters, as well as on their interrelations in young female depressive patients. Patients: a comparative analysis of quantitative clinical (according to the HDRS-17 scale), neurophysiological (EEG) and neuroimmunological (according to the “Neuro-immuno-test” technology) parameters was carried out in two groups of female depressive patients aged 16–25 years. The first group included 46 patients who recovered from a mild or asymptomatic coronavirus infection (“COVID” group). The second group included 40 patients who were studied and treated before the start of the pandemic (i.e., those who did not have COVID — the “pre-COVID” group) and corresponding to patients of the first group by gender, age, diagnoses, and syndrome structure of disorders. In all patients, prior to the start of the course of therapy, a multichannel EEG was recorded with the measurement of absolute spectral power and neuroimmunological parameters in blood plasma were determined. Methods: clinicalpsychopathological, psychometric, neurophysiological, neuroimmunological, statistical. Results: significantly greater scores of somatic disorders cluster of HDRS-17 scale, and increased amount of slow-wave EEG activity (of delta, theta1 and theta2 subbands) were revealed in the “COVID” group in comparison to patients of “pre-COVID” group. Mean values of neuroimmunological parameters were not differed statistically between two groups, but the values of neuroplasticity markers (levels of autoantibodies to the S100b protein and to the basic myelin protein) in the “pre-COVID” group correlated positively with the spectral power values of the main EEG rhythm (alpha2 and alpha3 sub-bands), and in “COVID” group — with the values of the spectral power of slow-wave EEG activity, reflecting a reduced brain functional state. Conclusion: the results obtained indicate that coronavirus infection, even in mild or asymptomatic forms, affects the clinical, neurophysiological and neuroimmunological parameters, as well as their interrelations in young female depressive patients.

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Abstract. Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked the emergence of an extensive complex of social-psychological stress factors that negatively affect the psychological state of people, even in uninfected persons. Patients with mental disorders, in particular those with depression, are especially susceptible to social stress. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of a complex of social stress factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental state and brain functional state in depressive patients. Material and methods. A comparative analysis of EEG parameters in two groups of 16-25-year-old female patients with depression was carried out. The main group included 42 patients hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic, but were not infected with coronavirus, that is, were exposed only to the social stress factors of the pandemic (the "COVID" group). The comparison group included 40 patients who were treated before the onset of the pandemic and matched by sex, age and diagnosis to patients of the main group (group "pre-COVID"). The groups did not statistically differ in baseline depression severity. A multichannel EEG was recorded in all patients before the start of the course of therapy, with the measurement of EEG spectral power and coherence values. Results. The features of the spatial-frequency organization of the EEG were noted, which indicate a reduced functional state of the frontal regions of the left hemisphere, which are responsible for executive functions and positive emotions, as well as a greater activation of the anterior regions of the right hemisphere, which are responsible for negative emotions and the pathogenesis of depression, in patients of the "COVID" group compared to patients of the "pre-COVID" group. Conclusion. The EEG data obtained are consistent with the assumptions about the possibility of aggravating the condition of mental patients under the influence of social-psychological stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the severity of this negative influence, at least in relation to the studied group of adolescent patients with depressive disorders, turned out to be significantly weaker than previously assumed at the beginning of the pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, social stress, depression, quantitative EEG, EEG spectral power, EEG coherence Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The study supported by Russian Scientific Foundation (Grant No. 21-18-00129).