Cognitive dysfunction is a common feature of autoimmune encephalitis. Pathogenic neuronal surface antibodies are thought to mediate distinct profiles of cognitive impairment in both the acute and chronic phases of encephalitis. In this review, we describe the cognitive impairment associated with each antibody-mediated syndrome and, using evidence from imaging and animal studies, examine how the nature of the impairment relates to the underlying neuroimmunological and receptor-based mechanisms. Neuronal surface antibodies, particularly serum NMDA receptor antibodies, are also found outside of encephalitis although the clinical significance of this has yet to be fully determined. We discuss evidence highlighting their prevalence, and association with cognitive outcomes, in a number of common disorders including cancer and schizophrenia. We consider mechanisms, including blood-brain barrier dysfunction, which could determine the impact of these antibodies outside encephalitis and account for much of the clinical heterogeneity observed.

认知功能障碍是自身免疫性脑炎的常见特征。致病性神经元表面抗体被认为介导了脑炎急性期和慢性期的认知障碍的不同特征。在这篇综述中，我们描述了与每种抗体介导的综合征相关的认知障碍，并使用来自影像学和动物研究的证据，研究了障碍的性质如何与潜在的神经免疫学和基于受体的机制相关。神经元表面抗体，特别是血清 NMDA 受体抗体，也在脑炎之外发现，尽管其临床意义尚未完全确定。我们讨论了在许多常见疾病（包括癌症和精神分裂症）中强调其患病率以及与认知结果关联的证据。