Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39667116›Full record

ArticleBrain and cognition2025

Neuroimaging markers of cognitive fatigue in individuals with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Christopher E Niemczak, James C Ford, Robert M Roth, Samantha M Leigh, Jeffrey Parsonnet, Christina Martin, Shreve O Soule, Theresa M Haron, Jay C Buckey, Glenn R Wylie

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Brain and cognition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–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

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Towards a domain-general mechanistic model of fatigue: application to Functional Neurological Disorder.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
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

10 authors.

Christopher E NiemczakGeisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Space Medicine Innovations Laboratory, Lebanon, NH, USA; Dartmouth Health, Department of Medicine, Lebanon, NH, USA. Electronic address: christopher.e.niemczak@dartmouth.edu.
James C FordDartmouth Health/Geisel School of Medicine, Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Robert M RothDartmouth Health/Geisel School of Medicine, Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Samantha M LeighGeisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Space Medicine Innovations Laboratory, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Jeffrey ParsonnetDartmouth Health, Department of Infectious Disease, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Christina MartinDartmouth Health, Department of Infectious Disease, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Shreve O SouleDartmouth Health, Advanced Imaging Center, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Theresa M HaronDartmouth Health, Advanced Imaging Center, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Jay C BuckeyGeisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Space Medicine Innovations Laboratory, Lebanon, NH, USA; Dartmouth Health, Department of Medicine, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Glenn R WylieKessler Foundation, Rocco Ortenzio Neuroimaging Center, West Orange, NJ, USA; Rutgers University Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA; Department of Veterans' Affairs, East Orange, NJ, USA.

Funding

Novel pediatric neurocognitive screening using central auditory testsR01HD095277 · NICHD · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI JAY C BUCKEY · 2018 to 2026
$5.9M
Long COVID Health Literacy Project: Bringing Health Information to Patients and Providers with Health Disparities in Rural Northern New EnglandG08LM014406 · NLM · DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK CLINIC · PI Jeffrey Parsonnet · 2024 to 2026
$449k
Auditory Insights into Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Unveiling Abnormal Auditory Perception and Diagnostic Markers through Complex Auditory Performance Tests.R21DC023094 · NIDCD · DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK CLINIC · PI NIEMCZAK, CHRISTOPHER EDWARD · 2025 to 2025
$433k
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD095277NIDCD NIH HHS R21 DC023094NLM NIH HHS G08 LM014406
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Persistent cognitive fatigue (CF) is the most reported symptom in Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC), but little is known about its underlying neural basis. This pilot study examined fMRI brain activation patterns during a fatiguing task in those with and without PASC. We hypothesized that individuals with PASC would show changes in CF-related brain activation within fatigue network. Participants were 10 adults with PASC and persistent CF and 10 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. The 2-back working memory task was used during fMRI to induce CF. Patients with PASC reported greater CF, as measured using a Visual Analogue Scale of Fatigue (VAS-F), throughout the task. The relationship of brain activation in the fatigue network to increased CF during the fatiguing task did not differ between groups. There were, however, more areas inside and outside the fatigue network that were activated in the PASC group as reported CF increased. The relationship between brain activation and scores on the 2-back did differ between groups, with the PASC group showing more frontal activation. Findings suggest that individuals with PASC and CF may need to exert greater mental effort during demanding cognitive tasks, reflected in recruitment of a broader network of brain regions.

Indexed as

BrainCOVID-19FatigueMental FatigueAdultFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMemory, Short-TermMiddle AgedNeuroimagingPilot ProjectsPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeSARS-CoV-2CognitionCognitive fatigueCOVID-19fMRILong-COVIDPost-Acute Sequela of COVID-19 (PASC)

Identifiers

PMID39667116
PMCPMC13282779

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
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.