Heidi A. Baseler
The negative impact of COVID-19 on working memory revealed using a rapid online quiz
Baseler, Heidi A.; Aksoy, Murat; Salawu, Abayomi; Green, Angela; Asghar, Aziz U.R.
Authors
Murat Aksoy
Abayomi Salawu
Angela Green
Aziz U.R. Asghar
Abstract
Although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects the respiratory system, it can also have neurological consequences leading to cognitive deficits such as memory problems. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on working memory function. We developed and implemented an online anonymous survey with a working memory quiz incorporating aspects of gamification to engage participants. 5428 participants successfully completed the survey and memory quiz between 8th December 2020 and 5th July 2021 (68.6% non-COVID-19 and 31.4% COVID-19). Most participants (93.3%) completed the survey and memory quiz relatively rapidly (mean time of 8.84 minutes). Categorical regression was used to assess the contribution of COVID status, age, time post-COVID (number of months elapsed since having had COVID), symptoms, ongoing symptoms and gender, followed by non-parametric statistics. A principal component analysis explored the relationship between subjective ratings and objective memory scores. The objective memory scores were significantly correlated with participants' own assessment of their cognitive function. The factors significantly affecting memory scores were COVID status, age, time post-COVID and ongoing symptoms. Our main finding was a significant reduction in memory scores in all COVID groups (self-reported, positive-tested and hospitalized) compared to the non-COVID group. Memory scores for all COVID groups combined were significantly reduced compared to the non-COVID group in every age category 25 years and over, but not for the youngest age category (18-24 years old). We found that memory scores gradually increased over a period of 17 months post-COVID-19. However, those with ongoing COVID-19 symptoms continued to show a reduction in memory scores. Our findings demonstrate that COVID-19 negatively impacts working memory function, but only in adults aged 25 years and over. Moreover, our results suggest that working memory deficits with COVID-19 can recover over time, although impairments may persist in those with ongoing symptoms.
Citation
Baseler, H. A., Aksoy, M., Salawu, A., Green, A., & Asghar, A. U. (2022). The negative impact of COVID-19 on working memory revealed using a rapid online quiz. PLoS ONE, 17(11), Article e0269353. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269353
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Oct 18, 2022 |
Online Publication Date | Nov 14, 2022 |
Publication Date | Nov 14, 2022 |
Deposit Date | Nov 28, 2022 |
Publicly Available Date | Nov 28, 2022 |
Journal | PloS one |
Print ISSN | 1932-6203 |
Publisher | Public Library of Science |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 17 |
Issue | 11 |
Article Number | e0269353 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269353 |
Public URL | https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4132648 |
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Files
Published article
(1.3 Mb)
PDF
Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Copyright Statement
Copyright: © 2022 Baseler et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
You might also like
Developing research skills in medical students online using an active research study
(2023)
Journal Article
PyBCI: A Python Package for Brain-Computer Interface(BCI) Design
(2023)
Journal Article
Development and evaluation of a smartphone-based electroencephalography (EEG) system
(2021)
Journal Article