This is the negative effect of Covid.īut importantly, and ignored - the small difference in the averages of the two plots is nearly invisible compared to the typical change in brain density that an adult’s brain goes through in a 3-year period. Notice that the mid-point of the scatterplot is ever so slightly below that of the non-Covid group. On the right, we have the same plot for people who did get Covid. All subjects were over age 45, and each green dot represents the change in each person’s brain over 3 years. Each dot above 0 indicate a brain that gained matter relative to others, and below 0 indicates brain loss. On the left, they have a scatterplot for “Controls” - people who did not get Covid. Their intro describes: “ …loss of grey matter in limbic cortical areas directly linked to the primary olfactory and gustatory system.” The study cited by Marginal Revolution examined changes over time in the brains, comparing people who did and didn’t get Covid. Most media headlines on these issues have been irresponsible in overstating the level of brain harm a typical person should expect. “Long Covid” is real, especially regarding sense of smell, but it is also rare. Brain scans reveal an age-specific impact on the brain, with people under 60 having no significant difference and people over 60 having a more noticeable (but still not huge) negative impact. Brain scans reveal effects on the brain that are relatively minor compared to typical non-Covid-related changes in brains over a 3-year period. Here’s what I learned from digging into that study and others: The link goes to this fascinating UK study, which scanned tens of thousands of brains before Covid, and then scanned many of the same ones again, after Covid hit.
![real action pose collection 04 scans real action pose collection 04 scans](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/68/4b/73/684b7380b37d7fddd9014c2e37dbe4ec--reference-book-action-poses.jpg)
"Covid and brain tissue loss confirmed,” I read on the excellent blog Marginal Revolution.