German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany.
Medical Faculty, Otto-Von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2022 May 17;12(1):8172. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11283-9.
Restrictive means to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have not only imposed broad challenges on mental health but might also affect cognitive health. Here we asked how restriction-related changes influence cognitive performance and how age, perceived loneliness, depressiveness and affectedness by restrictions contribute to these effects. 51 Germans completed three assessments of an online based study during the first lockdown in Germany (April 2020), a month later, and during the beginning of the second lockdown (November 2020). Participants completed nine online cognitive tasks of the MyBrainTraining and online questionnaires about their perceived strain and impact on lifestyle factors by the situation (affectedness), perceived loneliness, depressiveness as well as subjective cognitive performance. The results suggested a possible negative impact of depressiveness and affectedness on objective cognitive performance within the course of the lockdown. The younger the participants, the more pronounced these effects were. Loneliness and depressiveness moreover contributed to a worse evaluation of subjective cognition. In addition, especially younger individuals reported increased distress. As important educational and social input has partly been scarce during this pandemic and mental health problems have increased, future research should also assess cognitive long-term consequences.
为了减少 COVID-19 大流行的传播而采取的限制措施不仅给心理健康带来了广泛的挑战，还可能影响认知健康。在这里，我们想知道与限制相关的变化如何影响认知表现，以及年龄、感知孤独、抑郁和受限制的影响如何对这些影响做出贡献。51 名德国人在德国第一次封锁期间（2020 年 4 月）、一个月后和第二次封锁开始时（2020 年 11 月）完成了一项基于在线的研究的三次评估。参与者完成了九项在线认知任务，以及关于他们在封锁期间对生活方式因素的感知压力和影响（受影响程度）、感知孤独、抑郁以及主观认知表现的在线问卷。结果表明，在封锁期间，抑郁和受影响程度可能对客观认知表现产生负面影响。参与者越年轻，这些影响就越明显。孤独和抑郁程度此外还导致对主观认知的评价更差。此外，特别是年轻人报告说压力增加。由于在这场大流行期间，重要的教育和社会投入部分匮乏，心理健康问题有所增加，未来的研究还应评估认知的长期后果。
