Dopamine receptor- and noradrenaline transporter-related disruptions are associated with depression and cognitive performance in COVID-19 survivors

作者：Yao Wang, Ziwei Yang, Xiao Liang, Lin Wu, Chengsi Wu, Jiankun Dai, Yuan Cao, Xianjun Zeng, Meng Li, Fuqing Zhou · 发表于：Meta-Radiology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.metrad.2025.100170 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Long-Term Effects of COVID-19、Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders、Pharmacological Receptor Mechanisms and Effects

Purpose This study aims to explore relationships between neural activity, neurovascular coupling (NVC) and neurotransmitter receptors, and their association with emotion and cognition in COVID-19 survivors. Materials and methods A total of 42 COVID-19 survivors and 30 matched healthy controls were recruited. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity strength (FCS) were calculated for local and global neural activity, respectively. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is characterized as brain perfusion. Regional NVC is evaluated via CBF/ReHo and CBF/FCS ratios at the voxel level. Neurotransmitter receptor maps were derived from the JuSpace toolbox, which integrates positron emission tomography and single-photon emission computed tomography data from healthy populations, included 16 receptor/transporters, such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and glutamate receptors, among others. The spatial correlations between neural activity, NVC and neurotransmitter receptor maps were subsequently established in COVID-19 survivors. Results No matter in neural activity or NVC, COVID-19 survivors mainly show decreased ReHo or CBF/ReHo pattern compared to HC. Moreover, the neurotransmitter receptor was strongly associated with only local neural activity (e.g., ReHo) and NVC (e.g., CBF/ReHo) in COVID-19 survivors. More specifically, the spatial pattern of ReHo was related to dopamine receptors, glutamate receptors, and noradrenaline transporters, but the CBF/ReHo was related only to ...