Casado Sánchez, M, Morales Fajardo, K, Long, S et al. · Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia · 2026 · DOI
A small study measured brain electrical activity in 20 people with long COVID who reported fatigue and brain fog, compared to 20 healthy controls. Researchers observed two types of altered brain patterns in the long COVID group: weaker electrical responses after hand movements and slower brain waves at rest in motor and sensory regions. These patterns were associated with cognitive symptoms and fatigue, but it remains unclear whether these brain changes explain the symptoms or are simply observed alongside them.
Fatigue and cognitive dysfunction (brain fog) are core symptoms of both long COVID and ME/CFS; by analogy, identifying candidate EEG biomarkers could help characterise neural correlates of these symptoms in ME/CFS if similar motor and sensory cortex patterns are found. However, relevance to ME/CFS is unclear until similar EEG studies are conducted in ME/CFS cohorts, as long COVID and ME/CFS may have distinct underlying mechanisms.
This study does not establish causation—it cannot demonstrate that altered brain electrical patterns cause fatigue or brain fog, only that they are observed alongside these symptoms. The findings do not confirm a mechanism; they suggest one candidate pathway requiring replication and validation. These preliminary observations do not warrant clinical use of PMBR or alpha frequency as diagnostic tests, nor do they support any treatment recommendation.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Casado Sánchez, M, Morales Fajardo, K, Long, S, Janaudis-Ferreira, T, Duclos, C, & Boudrias, M H (2026). Identifying EEG biomarkers of fatigue and brain fog in long COVID: insights from rest and movement-related brain activity.. Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2026.112230
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-casado-snchez-2026-identifying-eeg,
author = {Casado Sánchez, M and Morales Fajardo, K and Long, S and Janaudis-Ferreira, T and Duclos, C and Boudrias, M H},
title = {Identifying EEG biomarkers of fatigue and brain fog in long COVID: insights from rest and movement-related brain activity.},
journal = {Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1016/j.jocn.2026.112230},
note = {PubMed: 42579936},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/casado-snchez-2026-identifying-eeg},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-08-12. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/casado-snchez-2026-identifying-eeg
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