ArticleFrontiers in neurology2023
The impact of wearing a KN95 face mask on human brain function: evidence from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of face coverings on people and interactions in mental health settings: scoping review.BJPsych open · 2025Review
- Wearing a KN95/FFP2 facemask has no measureable effect on functional activity in a challenging working memory n-back task.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2024Article
- Advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the mandatory use of masks in health centers and nursing homes in Spain. How and when is it justified to maintain it?Revista espanola de quimioterapia : publicacion oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Quimioterapia · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Face masks are widely used in daily life because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of wearing face masks on brain functions by using resting-state functional MRI (RS-fMRI). Methods: Scanning data from 15 healthy subjects (46.20 ± 6.67 years) were collected in this study. Each subject underwent RS-fMRI scans under two comparative conditions, wearing a KN95 mask and natural breathing (no mask). The amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and functional connectivity under the two conditions were analyzed and then compared using the paired Results: Compared with those of the no-mask condition, the ALFF activities when wearing masks were increased significantly in the right middle frontal gyrus, bilateral precuneus, right superior marginal gyrus, left inferior parietal gyrus, and left supplementary motor area and decreased significantly in the anterior cingulate gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, bilateral lingual gyrus, and bilateral calcarine cortex ( Conclusion: This study demonstrated that wearing a KN95 face mask can cause short-term changes in human resting brain function. Both local neural activities and functional connectivity in brain regions were sensitive to mask wearing. However, the neural mechanism causing these changes and its impact on cognitive function still need further investigation.
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Registered trials
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.