Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on brain and behavior

Abstract

The Covid-19 viral infection, which was first detected in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019, spread rapidly around the world and turned into a major pandemic. At the time this article was written, Covid-19 has infected more than 250 million people worldwide, causing close to 5 million deaths. In addition to the fact that Covid-19 is a lytic infection, its easy spread through the respiratory tract required a social isolation that people were not accustomed in the pandemic period. Social isolation and economic losses caused significant social and psychological problems in society. On the other hand, Covid-19 also has direct effects on the central nervous system (CNS), and these effects may be responsible for some serious early or late neuropsychic disorders. In addition, acute symptoms of infection involved in respiratory system failure and cytokine storm, and vaccination activities were discussed detailed. Although neurological problems such as seizure, encephalitis, anosmia, dysgeusia, stroke and delirium are discussed to a certain extent, current data on psychological and/or psychiatric problems due to pandemic itself or the virus are remaining limited. In this review article, it is aimed to evaluate the effects of Covid-19 on brain and mental health in the light of current data. In addition, the literature on neuropsychiatric side effects of vaccines approved for emergency use was also reviewed.