COVID-19 and the Chemical Senses: Supporting Players Take Center Stage.

Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.Harvard Medical School Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA, USA.Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.Department of Food Science, Institute of Agriculture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA; Smell & Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.Harvard Medical School Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA, USA.Harvard Medical School Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA, USA.Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.Department of Otolaryngology, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA and the Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center, Aurora, CO, USA.Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate Program in Cell Biology, Stem Cells and Development and the Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center, University of Colorado, School Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA. Electronic address: linda.barlow@cuanschutz.edu.Harvard Medical School Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: srdatta@hms.harvard.edu.Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany. Electronic address: a.dipizio.leibniz-lsb@tum.de.

Neuron. 2020;(2):219-233

Abstract

The main neurological manifestation of COVID-19 is loss of smell or taste. The high incidence of smell loss without significant rhinorrhea or nasal congestion suggests that SARS-CoV-2 targets the chemical senses through mechanisms distinct from those used by endemic coronaviruses or other common cold-causing agents. Here we review recently developed hypotheses about how SARS-CoV-2 might alter the cells and circuits involved in chemosensory processing and thereby change perception. Given our limited understanding of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, we propose future experiments to elucidate disease mechanisms and highlight the relevance of this ongoing work to understanding how the virus might alter brain function more broadly.

Methodological quality

Publication Type : Review

Metadata

MeSH terms : Smell ; Taste