Dr. Natalie Tronson, Associate Professor of Psychology

COVID-19, Inflammation, and Risks for Long-Term Memory Decline

COVID-19 has dominated our lives for the past 3 years, and although we now know a lot about the virus and about the COVID-19 illness, we are just starting to learn about the long-term effects of the pandemic, the virus, and the sickness. In my laboratory, we study how illness and inflammation – a part of the body’s own defenses against viruses and other invaders – can cause short- and long-term changes in the brain, in memory, and in cognition. Over the past few years, we have become specifically interested in the role of inflammation in long-COVID, a syndrome that can last months or longer, and includes neurological symptoms including “brain fog” and decreased memory function. In this talk, I will discuss what we have learned from animal models of COVID-like inflammation and memory dysfunction, and what we are trying to learn about COVID-related risks for age-related cognitive decline and dementias including Alzheimer’s disease.

Stream talk here

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