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We investigate whether erroneous sensory-motor processing may be an underlying mechanism of persistent somatic symptoms in post-COVID. Reports of persistent symptoms in post-COVID are reminiscent of functional symptoms, in that they lead to severe suffering but lack an organ-pathological correlate (Maxwell, 2020; Sollini et al., 2020). Based on previous work with patients with functional dizziness (see Lehnen et al., 2019; Schröder et al., 2021) and irritable bowel syndrome (Schröder et al., 2022), we employ a gaze-shift paradigm to measure possible deficits in integrating internal model based expectations and sensory information in patients with post-COVID dizziness. Our results will inform whether erroneous sensorimotor processing may constitute a shared, transdiagnostic mechanism functional disorders and post-COVID symptoms.

In this study, we investigate whether erroneous sensory-motor processing may be an underlying mechanism of post-COVID dizziness. Reports of persistent symptoms in post-COVID are reminiscent of functional symptoms, in that they lead to severe suffering but lack an organ-pathological correlate (Maxwell, 2020; Sollini et al., 2020). Based on previous work with patients with functional dizziness (see Lehnen et al., 2019; Schröder et al., 2021), we employ a gaze-shift paradigm to measure possible deficits in integrating internal model based expectations and sensory information in patients with post-COVID dizziness. Our results will inform whether erroneous sensorimotor processing may be a shared, transdiagnostic mechanism functional dizziness and post-COVID dizziness.

The primary goal of the study is to investigate dyspnea under different breathing conditions in patients with persistent dyspnea and/or fatigue after COVID-19 by using a rebreathing paradigm. We will investigate whether perceived dyspnea differs between patients with post-COVID symptoms and those who do not have persistent symptoms after COVID-19. Furthermore, we will examine whether there are differences in physiological breathing parameters such as breathing flow and CO2 concentration.

As we interact with the external world, we judge magnitudes from sensory information. The estimation of magnitudes has been characterized in primates, yet it is largely unexplored in non-primate species. Here, we show that gerbils that solve a time-interval reproduction task display primate-like magnitude estimation characteristics, most prominently a systematic overestimation of small stimuli and an underestimation of large stimuli, often referred to as regression effect. We investigated the underlying neural mechanisms by recording from medial prefrontal cortex and show that the majority of neurons respond either during the measurement or the reproduction of a time-interval. Cells that are active during both phases display distinct response patterns. We categorize the neural responses into multiple types and demonstrate that only populations with mixed responses can encode the bias of the regression effect. These results reveal the organizing neural principles of an important higher cognitive function.