Chutko, L S, Surushkina, S Yu, Yakovenko, E A et al. · Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova · 2025 · DOI
This review examined research on how chronic fatigue syndrome and related conditions affect thinking and mental processing abilities. The authors looked at different theories about what causes these disorders and found that problems with cognitive control—the brain's ability to focus, plan, and manage mental tasks—may play an important role in how these conditions develop and persist.
Understanding cognitive impairment in ME/CFS is critical because 'brain fog' significantly impacts patients' quality of life and functioning. This review synthesizes evidence about the mechanisms underlying these cognitive problems and evaluates treatment options, potentially informing better clinical management and future research directions.
As a review article, this work does not present new original research data and cannot establish causal relationships between cognitive control deficits and asthenic symptoms. The review's conclusions depend entirely on the quality and scope of included studies, and publication bias may influence which findings are available to review.
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 →
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