Brain fog

Clouding of consciousness (also known as brain fog or mental fog)

occurs when a person is slightly less wakeful or aware than normal.
They are not as aware of time or their surroundings and find it
difficult to pay attention.
People describe this subjective sensation as their mind being "foggy"
Psychopathology
The conceptual model of clouding of consciousness is that of a part of
the brain regulating the "overall level" of the consciousness part of the
brain, which is responsible for awareness of oneself and of the
environment.
Various etiologies disturb this regulating part of the brain, which in
turn disturbs the "overall level" of consciousness.
This system of a sort of general activation of consciousness is referred
to as "arousal" or "wakefulness"
It is not necessarily accompanied by drowsiness, however.
Patients may be awake (not sleepy) yet still have a clouded
consciousness (disorder of wakefulness).
Paradoxically, affected individuals say that they are "awake but, in
another way, not". Lipowski points out that decreased "wakefulness"
as used here is not exactly synonymous with drowsiness. One is a
stage on the way to coma, the other on the way to sleep which is very
different.

The affected person experiences a subjective sensation of mental

clouding described in the patient's own words as feeling "foggy".
One patient described it as "I thought it became like misty, in some
way... the outlines were sort of fuzzy". Others may describe a "spaced
out" feeling. Affected individuals compare their overall experience to
that of a dream because as in a dream consciousness, attention,
orientation to time and place, perceptions, and awareness are
disturbed.
Barbara Schildkrout, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and clinical
instructor in psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School described her

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subjective experience of clouding of consciousness, or what she also
called "mental fog", after taking a single dose of the antihistamine
chlorpheniramine for her cottonwood allergy while on a cross-country
road trip. She described feeling "out of it" and being in a "dreamy
state". She described a sense of not trusting her own judgment and a
dulled awareness, not knowing how long time went by.
Clouding of consciousness is not the same thing as depersonalization
even though people affected by both compare their experience to that
of a dream. Psychometric tests produce little evidence of a
relationship between clouding of consciousness and
depersonalization.

This may affect performance on virtually any cognitive task.

As one author put it, "It should be apparent that cognition is not
possible without a reasonable degree of arousal."
Cognition includes perception, memory, learning, executive
functions, language, constructive abilities, voluntary motor control,
attention, and mental speed.
The most significant, however, are inattention, thought process
abnormalities, comprehension abnormalities, and language
abnormalities.
The extent of the impairment is variable because inattention may
impair several cognitive functions.
Affected individuals may complain of forgetfulness, being
"confused", or being "unable to think straight".
Despite the similarities, subsyndromal delirium is not the same thing
as mild cognitive impairment; the fundamental difference is that mild
cognitive impairment is a dementia-like impairment, which does not
involve a disturbance in arousal (wakefulness).

In Diseases

The emerging concept of sluggish cognitive tempo has also been

implicated in the expression of 'brain fog' symptoms.

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Patients recovering from COVID-19 report experiencing 'brain fog',
which can reflect a wide variety of neurological and psychological
symptoms linked to COVID-19.
Many people with fibromyalgia experience cognitive
problems (known as "fibrofog" or "brainfog"), which may involved
impaired concentration, problems with short- and long-term memory,
short-term memory consolidation, working memory, impaired speed
of performance, inability to multi-task, cognitive overload, and
diminished attention span. About 75% of fibromyalgia patients report
significant problems with concentration, memory, and multitasking.
A 2018 meta-analysis found that the largest differences between
fibromyalgia patients and healthy subjects were for inhibitory control,
memory, and processing speed. Many of these are also common
symptoms of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and the
two conditions have been linked via studies, to the point that a
diagnosis of fibromyalgia has been proposed as an indication to also
screen for ADHD. In particular, the "brain fog" of ADHD has been
linked to "fibro fog". It is alternatively hypothesized that the increased
pain compromises attention systems, resulting in cognitive problems.
In chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic
encephalomyelitis, the CDC's recommended criteria for
diagnosis[39] include that one of the following symptoms must be
present:[39]
 Problems with thinking and memory (cognitive dysfunction,
sometimes described as "brain fog")
 While standing or sitting upright; lightheadedness, dizziness,
weakness, fainting or vision changes may occur (orthostatic
intolerance)
Lyme disease's neurologic syndrome, called Lyme encephalopathy, is
associated with subtle memory and cognitive difficulties, among other
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issues.[40] Lyme can cause a chronic encephalomyelitis that
resembles multiple sclerosis. It may be progressive and can involve
cognitive impairment, brain fog, migraines, balance issues, and
extensive other issues.[citation needed]

From FLCCC Alliance-USA

Did you know an allergic reaction is actually an overload of
histamine?
Dr. Keith Berkowitz: “Anytime we have any type of inflammatory
process, the first response of the body is actually to make histamines.
Whether it’s a cut, whether it’s a reaction to food, whether it's an
infection, we will see this response.”
Did you know that histamine can cause brain fog?
Dr. Berkowitz: “One of the symptoms of long COVID is that
histamine can actually cause issues in the brain and lead to
neurovascular inflammation, including brain fog, cognitive
impairment, and fatigue.”
Did you know how COVID-19 affects your gut microbiome?
Dr. Robin Rose: “We know that the gut microbiome is severely
destroyed once we’re infected with the virus.”
Did you know what Mast Cell Activation Syndrome is?
Dr. Rose: “Your gut has a surface area the size of 1 to 2 tennis courts.
So you can imagine the number of mast cells that are living there.
Mast cells have ACE2 receptors and the S1 spike protein binds to
those receptors and activates the mast cells. The mast cells then
release cytokines, chemokines, interleukins, histamine, and many
many other substances, and this becomes a vicious cycle that is very,
very hard to stop.”