Frolli Alessandro, Ricci Maria Carla, Di Carmine Francesca, Lombardi Agnese, Bosco Antonia, Saviano Emilio, Franzese Luisa
Disability Research Centre, University of International Studies in Rome, 00147 Rome, Italy.
FINDS-Italian Neuroscience and Developmental Disorders Foundation, 81040 Caserta, Italy.
Brain Sci. 2021 Sep 16;11(9):1222. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11091222.
The rapid expansion and severity of the COVID-19 contagion has had negative physical and psychological health implications for millions of people around the world, but even more so among children and adolescents. Given the severity of the situation and the small number of studies on the direct influence of viral infection on the cognitive development within adolescents, the present study aims at understanding the consequences of contracting the virus and being hospitalized in relation to cognitive functioning, in particular, for executive functioning, among adolescents.
To all subjects included in the sample, divided into four groups based on the severity of the COVID-19 infection, were administered the WISC-IV in order to evaluate the global cognitive functioning, and subsequently, the subtests Courses and Tower of London (ToL), both part of the BVN 12-18, were administered for the evaluation of executive operation.
Our analyses showed that between subjects who did not contract the viral infection and those who contracted it in an asymptomatic form, there are no significant differences in cognitive functioning, but only in executive functioning. Furthermore, in both hospitalized and non-hospitalized subjects, we found lower scores especially for WM skills, while IQ scores are in a medium range.
the present study shows that contracting the viral infection and, thus, being hospitalized, caused greater problems and difficulties as compared to those who were not hospitalized, impacting global cognitive (and executive) functioning, especially the WM. We believe that these results could allow an early detection of alterations in cognitive and executive functioning, a fundamental aspect of the interventions that occur in evolutionary phases such as those related to pre-adolescence, allowing, therefore, the activation of functional recovery pathways in a short time.
新冠疫情的迅速蔓延及其严重程度对全球数百万人的身心健康产生了负面影响，对儿童和青少年的影响尤为严重。鉴于形势的严峻性以及关于病毒感染对青少年认知发展直接影响的研究较少，本研究旨在了解感染病毒并住院对青少年认知功能，特别是执行功能的影响。
对样本中的所有受试者，根据新冠感染的严重程度分为四组，进行韦氏儿童智力量表第四版（WISC-IV）测试以评估整体认知功能，随后进行BVN 12 - 18中的分测验“课程”和伦敦塔测验（ToL），以评估执行操作。
我们的分析表明，未感染病毒的受试者与无症状感染的受试者在认知功能方面没有显著差异，但在执行功能方面存在差异。此外，在住院和未住院的受试者中，我们发现尤其是工作记忆技能得分较低，而智商得分处于中等范围。
本研究表明，与未住院的受试者相比，感染病毒并因此住院会导致更大的问题和困难，影响整体认知（和执行）功能，尤其是工作记忆。我们认为这些结果可以早期发现认知和执行功能的改变，这是在诸如青春期前等发育阶段进行干预的一个基本方面，从而能够在短时间内激活功能恢复途径。
