Have you experienced “brain fog” after having COVID-19? Brain fog is a common symptom of Long COVID and is characterized by slow thinking, confusion, difficulty remembering things, and poor concentration. 

Outside of Long COVID, many individuals experience brain fog after having a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or other viral disorders. Fortunately, one type of rehabilitation program has been shown to help. Learn more about it and how it may help to treat brain fog in Long COVID.* 

What is Neuroplasticity Rehabilitation?

According to experts, treating brain fog starts with allowing the brain to rewire itself. Neuroplasticity rehabilitation may enable the brain to do that. Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of neural networks in the brain to adapt, change, and improve. Similar to a muscle in the body, the brain can be trained and exercised.

“The brain’s ability to bounce back from injury is what neuroplasticity is, and I’ve worked with people in our rehab clinic who have had brain tumors or suffer the effects of surgery or radiation on the brain, and people who have had West Nile, HIV, and meningitis,” says Tom Bergquist, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. “There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t see someone recovering from COVID-19.”

Neuroplasticity rehabilitation can help combat what researchers have found to be a memory in the body of past infections, which is causing a heightened immune response and lingering brain fog.

What Are the Techniques Used in Neuroplasticity Rehabilitation?

There are multiple approaches being used in neuroplasticity rehabilitation. One approach Bergquist has used at his clinic is called “errorless learning.” This technique involves patients repeating specific information until they are able to recall it a given number of times without error. Consistent repetition helps rebuild memory skills that may have deteriorated during infection. 

Another technique similar to errorless learning is called “shaping.” It is being studied at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where participants repeatedly carry out a physical function that has been impaired – a common household task they have forgotten how to do, for example. Patients are also given ways to transfer those skills from rehab to real-life use. 

While results from this study have yet to be published, researcher and professor of psychology Edward Taub, Ph.D. says patients with brain fog are improving after only 35 hours of therapy, and most patients are 100% improved after six months. 

Brain fog can be extremely frustrating, but the promising results of neuroplasticity rehabilitation should be something to consider. If you or a loved one are experiencing brain fog, discuss with your doctor how neuroplasticity rehabilitation may help you. 

*Kalter, L. (2022, February 10). Scientists See Hope in New Therapy for COVID Brain Fog Patients. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220210/hope-for-covid-brain-fog