SARS-CoV-2 Slows Brain Rhythms with more Severe Effects in Younger Individuals

Coronavirus disease secondary to infection by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID19 or C19) causes respiratory illness, as well as severe neurological symptoms that have not been fully characterized. In a previous study, we developed a computational pipeline for the automated, rapid, high-throughput and objective analysis of brain encephalography (EEG) rhythms. In this retrospective study, we used this pipeline to define the quantitative EEG changes in patients with a PCR-positive diagnosis of C19 (n=31) in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Cleveland Clinic, compared to a group of age-matched PCR-negative (n=38) control patients in the same ICU setting. Qualitative assessment of EEG by two independent teams of electroencephalographers confirmed prior reports with regards to the high prevalence of diffuse encephalopathy in C19 patients, although the diagnosis of encephalopathy was inconsistent between teams. Quantitative analysis of EEG showed distinct slowing of brain rhythms in C19 patients compared to control (enhanced delta power and attenuated alpha-beta power). Surprisingly, these C19-related changes in EEG power were more prominent in patients below age 70. Moreover, machine learning algorithms showed consistently higher accuracy in the binary classification of patients as C19 versus control using EEG power for subjects below age 70 compared to older ones, providing further evidence for the more severe impact of SARS-CoV-2 on brain rhythms in younger individuals irrespective of PCR diagnosis or symptomatology, and raising concerns over potential long-term effects of C19 on brain physiology in the adult population and the utility of EEG monitoring in C19 patients.

Dissociation and Brain Rhythms: Pitfalls and Promises

Recently, Vesuna et al. proposed a novel circuit mechanism underlying dissociative states using optogenetics and pharmacology in mice in combination with intracranial recordings and electrical stimulation in an epilepsy patient. Specifically, the authors identified a posteromedial cortical delta-rhythm that underlies states of dissociation. In the following, we would like to critically review these findings in the context of the human literature on dissociation as well as highlight the challenges in translational neuroscience to link complex behavioral phenotypes in psychiatric syndromes to circumscribed circuit mechanisms.

Altered low frequency brain rhythms precede changes in gamma power during tauopathy

Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are associated with disruptions of electrophysiological brain activity, including low frequency and gamma rhythms. Many of these dementias are also associated with the malfunction of the membrane associated protein tau. Tauopathy disrupts neuronal function and the stability of synapses and is a key driver of neurodegeneration. Here we ask how brain rhythms are affected by tauopathy, at different stages of its progression. We performed local field potential recordings from visual cortex of rTg4510 and control animals at early stages of neurodegeneration (5 months) and at a more advanced stage where pathology is evident (8 months). We measured brain activity in the presence or absence of external visual stimulation, and while monitoring pupil diameter and locomotion to establish animal behavioural states. At 5 months, before substantial pathology, we found an increase in low frequency rhythms during resting state in tauopathic animals. This was because tauopathic animals entered intermittent periods of increased neural synchronisation, where activity across a wide band of low frequencies was strongly correlated. At 8 months, when the degeneration was more advanced, the increased synchronisation and low frequency power was accompanied by a reduction in power in the gamma range, with diverse effects across different components of the gamma rhythm. Our results indicate that slower rhythms are impaired earlier than gamma rhythms in tauopathy, suggesting that electrophysiological measurements can indicate both the presence and progression of tauopathic degeneration.