Researchers Warn That COVID-19 Infections Are Quietly Rewiring the Human Brain on a Molecular Level
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jan 04, 2026 23 hours, 50 minutes ago
Medical News: A new scientific study has revealed troubling evidence that COVID-19 infection is leaving lasting changes in the human brain, potentially explaining why many survivors experience lingering memory problems, mood disorders, anxiety, and other neurological symptoms long after recovery.
COVID-19 infection may silently alter brain gene activity linked to memory mood and cognition
Researchers analyzed brain tissue at an unprecedented level of detail, focusing on how COVID-19 alters the way brain cells process genetic instructions. Their findings suggest that the virus may disrupt essential communication systems inside brain cells, especially neurons responsible for thinking, memory, and emotional control.
This
Medical News report highlights research conducted by scientists from the Institute for Clinical Medical Research at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, the Xiamen Cell Therapy Research Center, and the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University in China.
Looking Deep Inside Brain Cells
The research team studied frontal cortex brain samples from people who died with COVID-19 and compared them to non-infected individuals. Using advanced single cell analysis, they examined how brain cells modify messenger RNA, a crucial molecule that tells cells how to make proteins.
One key process they studied is called alternative polyadenylation. While the name sounds complex, it simply refers to how cells decide where to end a genetic message. This decision affects how stable the message is, how much protein is produced, and how long the message lasts. Small changes in this process can have big effects on brain health.
Neurons Show the Most Damage
The study found that neurons were especially affected after COVID-19 infection. In healthy brains, neurons usually produce longer genetic messages that support stable communication and learning. After infection, many neurons shifted toward producing shorter and less stable messages.
This shift was strongly linked to genes involved in memory formation, learning ability, synaptic signaling, and overall brain development. Researchers observed that important brain support genes such as NEFL, APP, and CALM1 showed disrupted processing, which may weaken nerve fibers and reduce communication between brain cells.
Links to Mental and Neurological Disorders
One of the most alarming findings was the identification of 267 genes linked to known neurological and psychiatric disorders that were altered after COVID-19 infection. These genes are associated with conditions such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, epilepsy, and cognitive decline.
The study also revealed that many of these genetic changes interfere with microRNA regulation, a system that normally keeps brain activity balanced. When this regulation is disturbed, brain ce
lls may overreact to stress or inflammation, increasing the risk of long-term mental health problems.
Why This Matters
These findings provide strong biological evidence that COVID-19 is not just a respiratory illness but can quietly reprogram the brain at a molecular level. The changes observed do not necessarily mean immediate brain damage, but they may increase vulnerability to neurological and psychiatric disorders months or even years later.
Conclusion
The study strongly suggests that COVID-19 infection triggers subtle yet widespread genetic changes in brain cells that affect how neurons function, communicate, and survive. By disrupting key pathways related to memory, cognition, and emotional regulation, these molecular shifts may explain the persistent brain fog, mood disorders, and neurological symptoms reported by many COVID survivors. Understanding these hidden changes opens the door to better diagnosis, monitoring, and future treatments aimed at protecting long term brain health.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: PLOS One
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0324689
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Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/long-covid
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