Even common infections can cause acute or lingering cognitive symptoms, with “COVID fog” being one of the most well-known examples. Cognitive and disease ecologists discuss how infection-related declines in learning, memory, or decision-making can affect how well animals like birds and bees adapt to urbanization or climate change in a review published in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
According to a recent review article by cognitive and disease ecologists, infection-associated declines in learning, memory, or decision-making can impact animals’ ability to adapt to urban development or climate change.
“Cognitive impairment could contribute to population declines, particularly for species that rely heavily on learning and memory for foraging or other important functions,” say the authors, including professors Dana Hawley and Kendra Sewall of Virginia Tech and Anne Leonard of the University of Nevada. “Impaired cognitive performance could compromise the ability of some animals to exploit urbanized and other rapidly changing habitats, where problem-solving may be particularly important.”
Cognitive impairment could contribute to population declines, particularly for species that rely heavily on learning and memory for foraging or other important functions. Impaired cognitive performance could compromise the ability of some animals to exploit urbanized and other rapidly changing habitats, where problem solving may be particularly important.
Professors Dana Hawley
The impact of disease on cognitive abilities varies greatly from animal to animal, depending on the animal’s survival strategy and how the pathogen or parasite manifests in the body. For example, social animals such as ants and humans may miss out on learning opportunities because they avoid high-risk areas or individuals, a behavior known as “landscape of disgust.”
Infections early in life may also make animals more vulnerable. For example, young canaries infected with Plasmodium while learning songs may have a reduced song repertoire and complexity as adults. Impairment may also occur indirectly as a result of malnutrition or the animal’s own immune response.
Animals may be more vulnerable to infections if they are exposed to them early. For instance, young animals who contract Plasmodium while learning songs may have a smaller song repertoire and a simpler song repertoire than adults. Indirect impairment may also result from the animal’s immune reaction or malnutrition.
According to the authors, the lack of comparable data across taxa is a problem in all cognitive ecology research. Understanding how infection affects specific cognitive functions will necessitate research on a broader range of hosts and pathogens, a focus on analogous cognitive functions (such as spatial learning, problem-solving, and general versus specialized cognitive functions), and the greatest possible standardization of experimental paradigms.
“One challenge in all studies of cognitive ecology is the scarcity of comparable data across taxa,” say the authors. “Understanding how infection affects specific cognitive abilities will require research across a wider breadth of hosts and pathogens, targeting analogous aspects of cognition (e.g., spatial learning; problem-solving; general versus specialized cognitive abilities), and standardizing experimental paradigms to the extent possible.”
There is a chance that the virus will infect animals, mutate, and then re-infect humans and spread among humans. Tracking variants and mutations, as well as understanding how SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread between humans and animals, both necessitate additional research and surveillance. More research and surveillance are needed to determine whether and how COVID-19 might affect various animals.
Numerous studies have been conducted to determine how this virus may affect various animals, including whether they are susceptible to infection and whether they can spread the infection to other animals. Animal studies have found no evidence that they can infect humans. These studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 is not contagious in invertebrates, birds, reptiles, or amphibians.
