“I couldn’t tell anyone,” the Yale graduate says, “because I felt that they were going to think it was the worst April Fool’s joke ever.” During a time when she wasn’t able to focus, Bailey, who lives in San Francisco, California, says her daily use of the app caused her mental health to improve, which helped lessen the brain fog. A research paper published in The Lancet last July found that 46 percent of long COVID-19 patients had difficulty finding words while speaking or writing, and 28.85 percent of the respondents found changes to their second or third language skills. More than 100 million people worldwide have suffered from long COVID symptoms, according to a meta analysis by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine published last October.Īllison Bailey, 24, first noticed symptoms on April Fool’s Day, 2020. The coronavirus is enigmatic in that it has even affected some patients’ language skills as long as six months after their initial symptoms. And this enjoyability factor may help patients feel less stressed, which, in turn, can decrease neuroinflammation and allow them to rebuild synapses. The app’s quirky sentences, like “The Loch Ness monster is drinking whiskey,” cause users to slow down and, instead of relying on context, rely on what they encounter. Plus, respondents found the app to be more enjoyable than typical brain training. “It may be just the right sweet spot of a mentally engaging activity for someone who is having a hard time mentally because of an illness,” says Jed Meltzer, the study's lead author and a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Toronto. The study compared Duolingo to an app called BrainHQ and found it was similarly effective at boosting working memory and information processing in older adults. In fact, language learning might supports memory, flexible thinking, and self-control much in the same way brain training apps do, according to a study published last October in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition. That’s a really meaningful development that people can help themselves.” “You’re accessing information in different ways, using other circuitries or abilities that you have. “It makes neuropsychological sense,” says Eric Zillmer, a professor of neuropsychology at Drexel University. It’s not so much the Spanish or French vocabulary but the process of learning a language that enhances neuroplasticity and strengthens the brain. The bilingual brain may also be more resilient against dementia, according to Ellen Bialystok, a distinguished research professor of psychology at York University. The Benefits of Bilingualismįor years, studies have shown that bilingualism supports auditory processing and can boost self-confidence, anxiety management, and cognitive performance. “Language can include speaking, comprehending spoken words, reading, writing, and the many associated brain regions of language and memory.” As for Williams, she was encouraged by her doctors to continue using the language app Duolingo to reap the neural benefits and help manage her fog. “Language may be especially helpful because it is not a unitary process,” says Alicia Walf, a neuroscientist and senior lecturer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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One of the best ways to do that? Yup, language training. In such cases, experts recommend patients enhance neuroplasticity (the brain's ability to morph itself by strengthening or weakening neural connections) while decreasing neuroinflammation via challenging and rehabilitative tasks. Both TBI and certain cases of COVID involve inflammation in the brain, as well as a decrease in plasticity and gray matter volume.
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“It was pretty distressing when people noticed it,” she says.īrain fog can look different person-to-person, but it’s roughly “synonymous and analogous to traumatic brain injury,” says Neilank Jha, a Canadian neurosurgeon who specializes in brain injuries and concussions. For over a decade, some argued that language training could help patients recover from traumatic brain injury, or TBI. The most jarring symptom for her was the brain fog - a prolonged sense of “fuzzy” or sluggish thinking - which she still deals with today. After a few months of congestion, loss of taste and smell, hair loss, and a significant drop in weight, the long-hauler began to recover but noticed some symptoms still lingered. Williams got COVID-19 pneumonia in November 2020, right before Thanksgiving. A language app, she says, helps her manage her post-COVID-19 brain fog. Meet Charlene Williams, a 56-year-old who practices Spanish on her smartphone every day.