Mental Fatigue

A condition of low alertness or cognitive impairment, usually associated with prolonged mental activities or stress.

Also Known As:

Cognitive Exhaustions; Cognitive Wearinesses; Exhaustion, Cognitive; Fog, Brain; Fog, Mental; Weariness, Cognitive; Brain Fog; Cognitive Exhaustion; Cognitive Weariness; Fatigue, Mental; Mental Fog

Networked: 391 relevant articles (46 outcomes, 56 trials/studies)

Relationship Network

Disease Context: Research Results

Related Diseases

1.	Fatigue
2.	Pain (Aches)
3.	Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
4.	Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)
5.	COVID-19

Experts

1.	Meeusen, Romain: 7 articles (12/2021 - 01/2017)
2.	Roelands, Bart: 7 articles (12/2021 - 01/2017)
3.	Rönnbäck, Lars: 7 articles (01/2021 - 05/2004)
4.	Kennedy, David O: 6 articles (07/2015 - 06/2004)
5.	Johansson, Birgitta: 5 articles (01/2021 - 10/2012)
6.	Watanabe, Yasuyoshi: 5 articles (10/2020 - 03/2008)
7.	Malaguarnera, Mariano: 5 articles (05/2014 - 01/2003)
8.	Van Cutsem, Jeroen: 4 articles (12/2021 - 08/2017)
9.	Scholey, Andrew B: 4 articles (02/2008 - 06/2004)
10.	Wang, Lei: 3 articles (08/2021 - 07/2017)

Drugs and Biologics

Drugs and Important Biological Agents (IBA) related to Mental Fatigue:

1.	Methylphenidate (Ritalin)FDA LinkGeneric 01/01/2020 - ": Significant improvement in mental fatigue, depression, and anxiety for the group treated with methylphenidate (p < .001) was found, while no significant change was found for the group without methylphenidate. " 11/01/2021 - "This pilot study investigates the efficacy of methylphenidate on decreasing self-reported mental fatigue in 12 individuals with MS in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over randomized clinical trial. " 01/01/2017 - "Individuals suffering from prolonged symptoms after TBI reported reduced mental fatigue and improved cognitive functions with long-term methylphenidate treatment. " 06/01/2017 - "The results of this study demonstrated that methylphenidate could effectively improve mental fatigue and cognitive functions in patients with TBI." 01/01/2017 - "In this hypothesis generating study, the long-term effects of methylphenidate on mental fatigue, cognitive function, and safety were assessed. "
2.	Caffeine (No Doz)FDA LinkGeneric 02/01/2008 - "Caffeine led to faster digit vigilance reaction time, improved Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP) accuracy and attenuated increases in self-reported 'mental fatigue'. " 06/01/2005 - "Self-rated mental fatigue was reduced and ratings of alertness were significantly improved by caffeine independent of group. " 06/01/2004 - "In comparison to placebo, all three active drinks improved the accuracy of RVIP performance and both the drink with the higher level of caffeine in first study and the active drink in the second study resulted in lower ratings of mental fatigue. " 01/01/2023 - "Single Dose of an Energy Dietary Supplement with a Small Amount of Caffeine Prevents an Increase of a Low Frequency Resting State EEG in Possible Mental Fatigue." 12/01/2021 - "Bioactive substances (e.g., caffeine) have been used to counteract mental fatigue but could have side effects. "
3.	Duloxetine Hydrochloride (Cymbalta)FDA Link 06/13/2011 - "Placebo-treated patients switched to duloxetine (n = 187) had significant within-group improvement in Physical Fatigue (Weeks 16, 20, and 24); General Fatigue (Weeks 20 and 24); Mental Fatigue (Week 20); and Reduced Activity (Weeks 20 and 24). " 05/01/2015 - "Significant improvement in secondary measures of mental fatigue, pain, and global measure of severity suggests that duloxetine may be efficacious for some chronic fatigue syndrome symptom domains, but larger controlled trials are needed to confirm these results." 05/01/2015 - "The duloxetine group was significantly superior to the placebo group on the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory mental fatigue score, Brief Pain Inventory average pain severity and interference scores, Short Form-36 bodily pain domain, and Clinical Global Impression of Severity score. " 11/30/2008 - "Duloxetine-treated patients improved significantly more than placebo-treated patients on the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire pain score, BPI least pain score and average interference score, Clinical Global Impressions of Severity scale, area under the curve of pain relief, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory mental fatigue dimension, Beck Depression Inventory-II total score, and 36-item Short Form Health Survey mental component summary and mental health score. "
4.	2- benzylidene- 3- (cyclohexylamino)- 2,3- dihydro- 1H- inden- 1- oneIBA 04/02/2023 - "In addition, for continuous SSVEP-BCI tasks, a combination of musical modes that used soothing background music during the rest interval phase proved more effective in reducing users' mental fatigue. " 04/02/2023 - "The study's results show that the introduction of exciting background music to the SSVEP-BCI task was effective in relieving participants' mental fatigue. " 04/02/2023 - "This study investigates the compensatory effect of music on mental fatigue through the introduction of different modes of background music in long-duration, SSVEP-BCI tasks. " 12/01/2022 - "Nevertheless, the tedious data collection process increases the mental fatigue of the user and severely affects the applicability of the BCI system.Approach" 01/01/2020 - "Adaptive feature extraction in EEG-based motor imagery BCI: tracking mental fatigue."
5.	OSU 6162IBA 12/01/2018 - "In view of its good tolerability, (-)-OSU6162 may offer a new treatment option for alleviating mental fatigue, as well as depression, in MS. Larger, randomized double-blind controlled trials are warranted to confirm the present preliminary observations." 03/01/2017 - "The effects of (-)-OSU6162 at a dose of 15 mg twice a day were evaluated using self-assessment scales and neuropsychological tests measuring mental fatigue. " 03/01/2017 - "Treatment with (-)-OSU6162 had no significant effect on mental fatigue in patients with traumatic brain injury compared with placebo." 03/01/2017 - "To examine the effects of the monoaminergic stabilizer (-)-OSU6162 on mental fatigue in patients with traumatic brain injury. " 06/01/2018 - "The monoaminergic stabiliser (-)-OSU6162 has in previous studies shown promising effects on mental fatigue after stroke and traumatic brain injury. "
6.	Hemoglobins (Hemoglobin)IBA 01/01/2022 - "The working memory load experiment demonstrated that, when mental fatigue increased, the amount of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) in the right prefrontal cortex and the right-left difference in oxy-Hb (ΔRL oxy-Hb) in the prefrontal cortex increased. " 01/01/2021 - "The preliminary research demonstrates the feasibility of detecting mental fatigue induced by different tasks, by applying the functional network features of cerebral hemoglobin signal. " 02/01/2020 - "When adjusted for bleeding, baseline hemoglobin was no longer associated with physical and mental fatigue." 01/01/2023 - "Cardiorespiratory fitness measured as peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), limiting factors for VO2peak (eg, cardiac function, pulmonary function, hemoglobin mass, blood volume, and skeletal muscle characteristics), cardiovascular risk factors (eg, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, physical activity level, and smoking status), and patient-reported outcomes (eg, body image, fatigue, mental health, and health-related quality of life) will be assessed at baseline, post intervention, and 24 months post intervention. " 01/01/2014 - "A single infusion of FCM improved fatigue, mental quality-of-life, cognitive function and erythropoiesis in iron-deficient women with normal or borderline hemoglobin. "
7.	Interleukin-6 (Interleukin 6)IBA 10/01/2019 - "The decrease in VAT was associated with improvement in mental fatigue (beta, 0.447 ± 0.203, p = .045), independent of other indices of adiposity, IL-6 concentrations, or Si. " 12/01/2012 - "In advanced cancer, CRP (r = 0.49, P = .001), IL-6 (r = 0.43, P = .003), IL-1-ra (r = 0.32, P = .03), and neopterin (r = 0.25, P = .10) were correlated with physical but not with mental fatigue. " 01/01/2022 - "In addition, the IL-6 inhibitor tocilizumab may ameliorate PASC symptoms in patients with persistent headache, fatigue, and brain fog." 11/04/2004 - "Based on this literature and observations from our own laboratory and others on the role of astroglial cells in the fine-tuning of glutamate neurotransmission we present the hypothesis that the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 could be involved in the pathophysiology of mental fatigue through their ability to attenuate the astroglial clearance of extracellular glutamate, their disintegration of the blood brain barrier, and effects on astroglial metabolism and metabolic supply for the neurons, thereby attenuating glutamate transmission. " 01/01/2019 - "Terms used were activation, antihistamines, atopy, autism, brain fog, heparin, KIT mutation, IgE, inflammation, IL-6, IL-31, IL-37, luteolin, mast cells, mastocytosis, mediators, mycotoxins, release, secretion, tetramethoxyluteolin, and tryptase. "
8.	RNA (Ribonucleic Acid)IBA 01/01/2023 - "Participants reporting higher severity brain fog or muscle pain at 90+ days after acute COVID-19 onset were less likely to have cleared SARS-CoV-2 RNA within 28 days. " 01/19/2023 - "This work indicates that at least two long COVID symptoms - brain fog and muscle pain - at 90+ days from acute COVID-19 onset are specifically associated with longer time to clearance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from the upper respiratory tract." 01/01/2023 - "This work indicates that at least two long COVID symptoms - brain fog and muscle pain - at 90+ days from acute COVID-19 onset are specifically associated with prolonged time to clearance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from the upper respiratory tract during acute COVID-19. "
9.	Carnitine (L-Carnitine)FDA LinkGeneric 12/01/2007 - "This study evaluated the efficacy of L-carnitine on physical and mental fatigue and on cognitive functions of centenarians. " 12/01/2007 - "L-Carnitine treatment reduces severity of physical and mental fatigue and increases cognitive functions in centenarians: a randomized and controlled clinical trial." 03/01/2006 - "L-carnitine reduces severity of physical and mental fatigue and improves daily activities in the elderly." 03/13/2018 - "Studies in older adults further showed that l-carnitine intake can lead to increased muscle mass accompanied by a decrease in body weight and reduced physical and mental fatigue. " 10/29/2016 - "After 12 weeks, although neither the FSS score nor the physical fatigue score (PFS) changed significantly, the mental fatigue score (MFS) was significantly decreased by treatment with L-carnitine compared with placebo (from 4.5 ± 1.9 to 3.9 ± 1.5 vs. from 4.2 ± 1.8 to 4.6 ± 1.6, respectively; P < 0.01). "
10.	AntioxidantsIBA 09/18/2020 - "This study showed that ingesting EWH improved antioxidant capacity with a single dose and reduced mental fatigue after 2 weeks of ingestion. " 09/18/2020 - "Single dose of EWH significantly increased the antioxidant ability compared with the placebo group (p < 0.05), and there was no significant difference between the groups in the oxidative stress test results on Study 1. Two-week intake of EWH significantly decreased mental fatigue compared with the placebo (p < 0.05). " 09/18/2020 - "This study aimed to show that ingesting egg white hydrolyzate (EWH) could improve antioxidant capacity and reduce mental fatigue. " 10/12/2020 - "The EOD-1PM group showed significantly lower levels of physical and mental fatigue sensations and higher levels of work efficiency as well as serum biological antioxidant potential levels than the placebo group. " 01/30/2023 - "Moreover, flaxseed is characterized by anticancer and antioxidant properties and can significantly reduce the intensity of symptoms associated with menopause, constipation, and mental fatigue, improve skin condition, and accelerate wound healing. "

Therapies and Procedures

1.	Cognitive Training 01/01/2022 - "In particular, cognitive rehabilitation is an underutilized technique that is beneficial in other medical conditions associated with brain fog and could improve symptoms in hypothyroid people. " 07/01/2018 - "Gains of cognitive training may be eliminated due to mental fatigue. " 10/24/2023 - "There are currently no specific tests to detect brain fog or any specific cognitive rehabilitation methods. " 01/01/2015 - "As cognitive overload and mental fatigue would reduce or even eliminate gains of cognitive training interventions, a real-time monitoring of cognitive workload can facilitate the learning process by flexibly adjusting difficulty levels of the training task. " 01/01/2017 - "Therefore, the effect of noophen on motivation and mental fatigue component can promote cognitive training in patients with cerebrovascular insufficiency. "
2.	Therapeutics 01/01/2022 - "the negative effects of mental fatigue come from impairment of cognitive functioning, and interventions using acceptance and commitment therapy for mental fatigue and negative emotions are more effective since both psychological inflexibility and cognitive fusion are important components of the therapy." 04/01/2017 - "However, sequentially scheduled therapy may trigger physical and mental fatigue and have an adverse impact on treatment outcomes. " 09/01/2021 - "Upon completion of therapy, the patient reported improvements with "brain fog" and the ability to perform activities of daily living. " 03/01/2007 - "This study demonstrates an evident deterioration of mental fatigue in patients with OSAS, directly correlated to the severity of nocturnal disorder breathing; however supports the hypothesis that long-term CPAP therapy significantly improves sleepiness and mental fatigue." 10/24/2023 - "Therefore, this review discusses mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis that may contribute to brain fog, as well as some approaches to providing therapies that may help COVID-19 patients avoid annoying brain fog symptoms."
3.	Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation 06/15/2021 - "Both MBSR and tDCS methods are effective in reducing the mental fatigue and aggression and increasing quality of life of mTBI patients; MBSR treatment, as indicated in the present study, can be more effective than tDCS in patients with mTBI. " 01/01/2022 - "The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of tDCS over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on mental fatigue and physical performance in professional swimmers. " 05/24/2023 - "With the assumption of showing significant differences in terms of outcome measures between slump and normal posture groups and also by showing the possible changes of the measures, by using either tDCS as a central modality or stretching exercises as a peripheral modality; the findings may provide evidence to indicate that poor posture has adverse effect on mental state and to introduce the effective method to overcome mental fatigue and promote work productivity. " 08/01/2022 - "Notably, a-tDCS over the motion-sensitive middle temporal area removed the negative effects of mental fatigue on perceptual-cognitive skills." 01/01/2022 - "tRNS combined with CT yielded larger improvements in PS compared to tDCS combined with CT, mainly under condition of increased mental fatigue. "
4.	Brain-Computer Interfaces 10/01/2023 - "Time-consuming data labeling in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) raises many problems such as mental fatigue and is one key factor that hinders the real-world adoption of motor imagery (MI)-based BCIs. " 01/01/2022 - "The data collection process can be tedious, increasing the mental fatigue of users and also seriously affecting the practicality of SSVEP-based brain-computer interface (BCI) systems.Approach" 07/01/2018 - "Recently, electroencephalogram (EEG)-based monitoring of mental fatigue has received increasing attention in the field of brain-computer interfaces (BCI). " 01/01/2020 - "This single-arm multisite trial investigates the efficacy of the neurostyle brain exercise therapy towards enhanced recovery (nBETTER) system, an electroencephalogram (EEG)-based motor imagery brain-computer interface (MI-BCI) employing visual feedback for upper-limb stroke rehabilitation, and the presence of EEG correlates of mental fatigue during BCI usage. "
5.	Continuous Positive Airway Pressure 03/01/2007 - "The effect of long term continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on mental fatigue in OSAS patients, assessed by Maastricht Questionnaire (MQ), has not been investigated yet. " 01/30/2021 - "Continuous positive airway pressure improved overall physical health, pain, cognitive functioning, fatigue, mental health, and sleep quality in a small study of Veterans with sleep-disordered breathing and GWI. "