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Publications

Journal Article Systematic Review Epublish

PubMed: 40640180 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-025-03423-2

Neuroimaging insights into the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.

Transl Psychiatry 15(1):236

Authors: Yiling Guo, Nanfang Pan, Yuhan Zou, Yajing Long, Xun Zhang, Qingyuan Li, Xueling Suo, Manpreet K Singh, Song Wang, Qiyong Gong

Affiliations

  • Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology, Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
  • Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology, Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
  • Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK.
  • Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology, Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
  • Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
  • Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis, Sacramento, USA.
  • Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology, Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
  • Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology, Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Xiamen Key Laboratory of Psychoradiology and Neuromodulation, Department of Radiology, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented threat to global health. However, neural substrates underlying mental health vulnerabilities brought by the pandemic remain elusive. We conducted a systematic review relating structural and functional brain abnormalities to mental health issues associated with COVID-19 at brain regional and network levels. A literature search on neuroimaging studies of mental health problems derived by COVID-19 was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science and MEDLINE databases. We identified 46 studies across various imaging techniques and found that COVID-19-related mental health problems were principally associated with brain structural and functional alterations in the prefrontal cortex, insula, cingulate, hippocampus, and amygdala, as well as the affective cortical network. This review may facilitate the targeted development of therapies tailored to the pandemic context and provide insights for proactive prevention against future collective stressors and traumas.

MeSH

Neuroimaging, Brain, Covid-19, Pandemics, Mental Health, Psychiatry