Is your brain tired? Researchers are discovering the roots of mental fatigue
2 days ago
- #long-covid
- #neuroscience
- #cognitive-fatigue
- Cognitive fatigue arises from metabolic changes in the brain, affecting motivation and decision-making.
- Research links cognitive fatigue to metabolites like glucose, lactate, glutamate, and adenosine, as well as proteins like brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
- Long COVID and other conditions like ME/CFS, PTSD, and Parkinson's disease often involve debilitating fatigue.
- Cognitive fatigue is protective, signaling the brain to rest to avoid physiological strain.
- New studies suggest that dopamine dynamics and neurometabolic strain contribute to fatigue.
- Physical and cognitive fatigue are interconnected, with each exacerbating the other.
- Sleep, especially deep sleep, is crucial for clearing metabolic debris and restoring brain function.
- Self-reports and performance tests are unreliable measures of cognitive fatigue; researchers seek better biomarkers.
- Chronic fatigue conditions make even simple tasks feel overwhelming, severely impacting quality of life.