PASC Psychological Change: Markers, Models, and Measures

Thursday, November 10, 2022

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Moderator(s)

Evan H. Cohen, PhD, Unlimited Michigan Psychology License, CBIS, '92-'94 Post-doc Fellow in Rehabilitation Psychology & Neuropsychology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, U. of MI Medical Center

Emeritus Neuropsychologist, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor; private neuropsychology practice
Evan H. Cohen, Ph.D., LP, CBIS, LLC; Long COVID Biomarker & Behavior Project Lead, ACRM International COVID-19 Task Force
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Slides

Presenter(s)

Rodolfo Furlan Damiano, MD, PhD Student

PhD Student
University of Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo, Brazil

Slides
Jacob Raber, Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Radiation Medicine

Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology, and Radiation Medicine
OHSU
Portland, Oregon, United States

Slides
Adam Hampshire, Ph.D

Professor of Restorative Neurosciences
Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
London, United Kingdom

Slides

Moderator(s)

Jennifer M. Loftis, PhD

Research Scientist and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
VA Portland Health Care System and Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, Oregon, United States

This symposium on PASC brings together three different research programs (from Brazil, the UK, and Oregon) to identify design features and data elements, or "key ingredients," that could make future PASC studies more clinically useful and standardized. The Oregon program identified an actual biological pathway from a SARS-CoV-2 viral spike protein (S1) to brain parenchyma in mice. Biochemical steps in this pathway suggested new biomarkers. The Brazil program presented an impressive prospective observational protocol whose neuropsychological tests lacked frontal lobe emphasis. The UK program demonstrated an innovative, internet-accessible neuropsychological battery that included clear measures of executive functioning, which appeared associated with PASC recovery. Presenters will not only summarize their own research but also discuss the thinking behind their "key ingredient" choices, how these "ingredients" might be used as common data and design elements, and how such common data/design elements might make future PASC studies more clinically useful.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion, participant will be able to choose which theory of how COVID-19 can eventually impact cognition received empirical support during this symposium: Cerebral vascular accidents? Hyperactive immune system? Crossing the blood-brain barrier? Encephalopathies?
Upon completion, participant will be able to choose which kind of research design is most likely to tell you about the trajectory of PASC symptoms for individual survivors? Cross-sectional? Retrospective? Prospective? Lab experiments with animal glycoproteins?
Upon completion, participant will be able to select what kinds of cognitive tests would most likely reveal what level of supervision (for safe choices, planning, handling change) your PASC patient needs: Memory? Processing speed? Executive functioning? Attention? Orientation?