Cognitive Aspects of COVID-19 Pandemic: The Need of "Pandemiology"

Abstract: COVID-19 spread rapidly worldwide and became a pandemic disease in April 2020. During this period, various medical complications of this disease have been reported, but less attention has been paid to the cognitive aspects caused by the pandemic. In this review article, an attempt has been made to address the cognitive aspects of COVID-19 disease. Importantly, this disease has caused people to use their hands lesser than before the pandemic. It also forces the people to escape from the contaminated regions. In addition, mental fatigue resulting from long-term quarantine and staying at home, social jet lag due to changes in the hours of use of artificial light, economic problems, and poverty resulting from a long-lasting lockdown, are also the consequences of the pandemic. All of these consequences can be led to chronic psychological stress, which may induce several metabolic, immunological, cardiovascular, and psychological impairments and/or disorders. These outcomes indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is a complicated issue that would not be resolved by considering the epidemiologic rules. There is an urgent need for a new branch of science which could be called “Pandemiology”, which could be categorized as a sub-branch of cognitive science. Pandemiology seems to be an interdisciplinary science and uses the social sciences, psychology, neuroscience, art, economy, politics, medicine, biology, media, and other sciences to better deal with the complications of such emerging pandemics. Keywords: Cognitive Function, COVID-19, Epidemiology, Pandemiolog