While there is abounding literature on virus-induced pathology in general and coronavirus in particular, recent evidence accumulates showing distinct and deleterious brain affection. As the respiratory tract connects to the brain without protection of the blood–brain barrier, SARS-CoV-2 might in the early invasive phase attack the cardiorespiratory centres located in the medulla/pons areas, giving rise to disturbances of respiration and cardiac problems. Furthermore, brainstem regions are at risk to lose their functional integrity. Therefore, long-term neurological as well as psychiatric symptomatology and eventual respective disorders cannot be excluded as evidenced from influenza-A triggered post-encephalitic Parkinsonism and HIV-1 triggered AIDS–dementia complex. From the available evidences for coronavirus-induced brain pathology, this review concludes a number of unmet needs for further research strategies like human postmortem brain analyses. SARS-CoV-2 mirroring experimental animal brain studies, characterization of time-dependent and region-dependent spreading behaviours of coronaviruses, enlightening of pathological mechanisms after coronavirus infection using long-term animal models and clinical observations of patients having had COVID-19 infection are calling to develop both protective strategies and drug discoveries to avoid early and late coronavirus-induced functional brain disturbances, symptoms and eventually disorders. To fight SARS-CoV-2, it is an urgent need to enforce clinical, molecular biological, neurochemical and genetic research including brain-related studies on a worldwide harmonized basis.

虽然有大量关于病毒引起的病理学、特别是冠状病毒引起的病理学的文献，但最近积累的证据显示出明显且有害的大脑影响。由于呼吸道与大脑的连接没有血脑屏障的保护，SARS-CoV-2可能在早期侵入阶段攻击位于延髓/脑桥区域的心肺中枢，导致呼吸紊乱和心脏问题。此外，脑干区域面临失去功能完整性的风险。因此，不能排除长期的神经和精神症状以及最终的相应疾病，如甲型流感引发的脑炎后帕金森症和 HIV-1 引发的艾滋病-痴呆症所证明的那样。根据冠状病毒引起的大脑病理学的现有证据，本综述总结了人类死后大脑分析等进一步研究策略的许多未满足的需求。SARS-CoV-2镜像实验动物脑研究、冠状病毒时间依赖性和区域依赖性传播行为的表征、使用长期动物模型对冠状病毒感染后病理机制的启示以及对COVID-19感染患者的临床观察呼吁制定保护策略和药物发现，以避免早期和晚期冠状病毒引起的功能性脑部紊乱、症状和最终疾病。为了抗击 SARS-CoV-2，迫切需要在全球统一的基础上加强临床、分子生物学、神经化学和遗传学研究，包括脑相关研究。