Publication date: Jun 23, 2026
SARS-CoV-2 infection may result in persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms beyond the acute phase, often discussed under the umbrella term “Long COVID”. These manifestations commonly include mood disturbances, post-traumatic stress symptoms, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances, and fatigue, with substantial effects on daily functioning and quality of life. Despite these concerns, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these sequelae remain poorly understood, and the lack of specific biomarkers hampers the development of targeted interventions. This review synthesizes recent advances in the clinical presentation, underlying mechanisms, diagnostic approaches, and therapeutic strategies for neuropsychiatric sequelae of Long COVID. We also discuss current challenges and outline future research priorities to facilitate the establishment of standardized diagnostic criteria and the development of effective, mechanism-based therapies.
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Biomarkers | Cognitive impairment |
| Covid | Immune dysregulation |
| Daily | Long COVID |
| Hampers | Neuroinflammation |
| Pathophysiological | Neuropsychiatric sequelae |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | Long COVID |
| disease | MESH | SARS-CoV-2 infection |
| pathway | REACTOME | SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| disease | MESH | cognitive impairment |
| disease | MESH | fatigue |
| disease | MESH | Neuroinflammation |