About The Artwork
The Long Shadow of COVID - a cover Illustration for the Levy Lab of the University of Pennsylvania.
Year: 2023
Submitted for consideration to the journal Cell, to accompany the manuscript "Serotonin reduction in post-acute sequelae of viral infection" by Wong et al.
Their study found that “long COVID” is associated with a reduction in serotonin level. They detected persistence of COVID-19 viral RNA in the gastrointestinal tract and infection-related inflammation that reduced serotonin levels, leading to a reduction in vagus nerve activity with resultant brain dysfunction and memory loss.