Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33582230›Full record

ReviewNeuroscience and biobehavioral reviews2021

Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: The importance of the vagus nerve for biopsychosocial resilience.

Josefien Dedoncker, Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt, Cristina Ottaviani, George M Slavich

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  7. Lifetime stressor exposure is related to suicidality in autistic adults: A multinational study.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Josefien DedonckerDepartment of Head and Skin - Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Josefien.Ddr@gmail.com.
Marie-Anne VanderhasseltDepartment of Head and Skin - Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Cristina OttavianiDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
George M SlavichCousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Funding

Neural, Inflammatory, and Genomic Mechanisms Underlying Risk for Depression in AdolescenceK08MH103443 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI SLAVICH, GEORGE MICHAEL · 2015 to 2018
$772k
NIMH NIH HHS K08 MH103443
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread increases in mental health problems, including anxiety and depression. The development of these and other psychiatric disorders may be related to changes in immune, endocrine, autonomic, cognitive, and affective processes induced by a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Interestingly, many of these same changes can be triggered by psychosocial stressors such as social isolation and rejection, which have become increasingly common due to public policies aimed at reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The present review aims to shed light on these issues by describing how viral infections and stress affect mental health. First, we describe the multi-level mechanisms linking viral infection and life stress exposure with risk for psychopathology. Then, we summarize how resilience can be enhanced by targeting vagus nerve function by, for example, applying transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation and targeting lifestyle factors, such as exercise. With these biopsychosocial insights in mind, researchers and healthcare professionals will be better equipped to reduce risk for psychopathology and increase resilience during this challenging pandemic period and beyond.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsAnxietyDepressionHumansMental HealthSARS-CoV-2Vagus NerveCoronavirus diseaseCOVID-19Lifestyle interventionsPsychiatric disordersSocial stressTranscutaneous vagus nerve stimulation

Identifiers

PMID33582230
PMCPMC8106638

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.