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People with post-COVID “brain fog” have unusually high numbers of a receptor that mediates neurotransmission in the central nervous system, Japanese researchers have found.

According to a new study by researchers at Yokohama City University, patients suffering from brain fog, a lingering symptom of COVID-19 marked by impaired concentration and memory, experience an increase in AMPA receptors — protein complexes critical for normal brain function — across wide regions of the brain.

Brain fog poses a serious obstacle to returning to work or school. However, its underlying mechanism remains undetermined, and there is no clear and effective treatment method for it.

The study, published in the journal Brain Communications, suggests that heightened levels of these receptors are associated with cognitive decline, potentially paving the way for new diagnostic tools and treatment options.

The team, led by professor Takuya Takahashi, used positron emission tomography imaging to examine the brains of 30 people who reported difficulty returning to daily life after contracting COVID-19. The results were compared with those from 80 healthy participants.

The study found that the density of AMPA receptors was significantly higher in the COVID group, which also performed worse on tests measuring vocabulary and memory.

AMPA receptors play a key role in transmitting signals between neurons. When overproduced, they can disrupt synaptic function and lead to cognitive impairment — a mechanism previously observed in depression and schizophrenia.

In COVID-19 patients, the researchers noted a distinctive pattern of receptor increase across the entire brain.

The study also found a correlation between receptor density and inflammatory proteins in the blood, suggesting that immune abnormalities triggered by the coronavirus may affect the brain.

Existing antiepileptic drugs may help treat brain fog by targeting these receptors. The research team plans to begin clinical trials to test their safety as early as next year.