In een overzichtsartikel vat Ocon de neurocognitieve abnormaliteiten in ME/CVS samen:

• verminderde bloedtoevoer naar/doorbloeding van de hersenen,
• orthostatische intolerantie (verschijnselen in staande positie, inclusief POTS),
• inclusief een afname van de "cognitieve prestaties" in "staande"positie (klik hier), en
• afwijkende activering van hersenen(delen) tijdens een cognitieve inspanning.

Tevens worden de meest relevante objectiveerbare! cognitieve symptomen samengevat:

problemen met de concentratie, het geheugen en de reactiesnelheid (zie ook hier).

Ook stelt Ocon aan basis van een aantal studies vast dat de cognitieve klachten geen relatie hebben met psychiatrische problemen. Dit is al eerder vastgesteld voor depressie (klik hier).

De sterke op de rol van "perceptie van mentale vermoeidheid" in "brain fog"

doet, gelet op alle voorgaande constateringen, nogal vreemd aan....

Maar ja, anders kan je de suggestie dat CGT wellicht "brain fog" kan verminderen, niet doen.

De kern van dit overzichtsartikel in enkele zinnen samengevat:

• Neurocognitive testing demonstrates specific cognitive deficits in CFS

 

• Psychiatric comorbidities are not associated with cognitive impairment in CFS

 

• Orthostatic stress impairs cognitive performance in CFS
• Cerebral blood flow is decreased in CFS
• Functional MRI finds altered regional cerebral activation in CFS

 

• Physical and cognitive symptoms of CFS may be a mental perception of stimuli
• The experience of "brain fog" in CFS as a collection of
• physiological, cognitive, and perceptual factors

Caught in the thickness of brain fog:

exploring the cognitive symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Front Physiol. 2013;4:63. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2013.00063.

Ocon AJ.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is defined as

greater than 6 months of persistent fatigue that is experienced physically and cognitively.

The cognitive symptoms are generally thought to be a mild cognitive impairment,

but individuals with CFS subjectively describe them as "brain fog."

The impairment is not fully understood and often is described as

slow thinking, difficulty focusing, confusion, lack of concentration,

forgetfulness, or a haziness in thought processes.

Causes of "brain fog" and mild cognitive impairment have been investigated.

Possible physiological correlates may be due to the effects of

chronic orthostatic intolerance (OI)

in the form of the Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and

decreases in cerebral blood flow (CBF).

In addition, fMRI studies suggest that

individuals with CFS may require increased cortical and subcortical brain activation

to complete difficult mental tasks.

Furthermore,

neurocognitive testing in CFS has demonstrated deficits in

speed and efficiency of information processing, attention,

concentration, and working memory.

The cognitive impairments are then perceived as an exaggerated mental fatigue.

As a whole, this is experienced by those with CFS as "brain fog" and

may be viewed as the interaction of physiological, cognitive, and perceptual factors.

Thus, the cognitive symptoms of CFS may be due to

altered CBF activation and regulation

that are exacerbated by a stressor,

such as orthostasis or a difficult mental task,

resulting in the decreased ability to readily process information,

which is then perceived as fatiguing and experienced as "brain fog."

Future research looks to further explore these interactions,

how they produce cognitive impairments, and

explain the perception of "brain fog" from a mechanistic standpoint.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3617392/pdf/fphys-04-00063.pdf