Once inside the host, the virus takes control over the cell's machinery, making numerous copies of itself and starts invading new cells. As the virus proliferates the infected person may start developing early symptoms like sore throat, dry cough, fever, body aches and loss of taste and smell.

During this stage if the immune system does not kick off to counteract increasing virus number in patient's body the condition becomes frightening. As the virus then progresses its route towards lungs where it attacks the alveoli; tiny air sacs where gaseous exchange take place.

Usually under healthy condition, oxygen traverse through the alveoli into blood capillaries which is then distributed to the rest of the body. However, when coronavirus invades lungs of the patient the battle between immune cells and the virus to kill infected cells in lungs results in pneumonia like symptoms making it difficult for the patients to breathe normally. In severe cases coronavirus can do more damage to the patients by invading other organs like liver, intestine, kidney, heart and blood vessels, brain and eyes.

Recent evidence from the clinical data obtained from hospitalized patients suggests that the physiopathology of COVID-19 may possibly involve the central nervous system (CNS).

In a latest study conducted on hospitalized patients in Japan traces of coronavirus were observed in the patient's cerebrospinal fluid who also developed meningitis and encephalitis, suggesting that the virus, can penetrate the CNS.

After studying several case reports clinicians have suggested that some COVID-19 patients might have stroke, seizures, confusion and brain inflammation. In some patients, coronavirus infection might even retard the effective operation of brain stem reflex that senses oxygen insufficiency, this is because despite extremely low oxygen levels in blood a large number of patients fall short to breathe regularly.

Although, clinicians and neuroscientists are intently trying to understand if these set of symptoms observed in patients are directly caused by virus or is it because of the body's heightened immune response.

At present, it is hard to comprehend the damage and long-lasting disabilities survivors of COVID-19 will encounter on the normal functioning of brain.

Hence, to gain a clear picture of the rapidly evolving neurological/mental health problems associated with COVID-19 it is imperative for neuroscientists to do painstaking research to find answers to some questions.

Such as: how and under what conditions coronavirus invades the CNS, attacks the brain cells, affects normal functioning and exacerbate preexisting conditions in a patient? Whether some neurons in brain are more vulnerable to coronavirus infection? Four, whether coronavirus infection in pregnant women affect foetal brain development and does it predispose the newborn babies to neurodevelopment disorders? Finally, what prospective interventions can be employed to alleviate the viral menace on human brain.

Definite answers to above raised questions will not only help in probing the neurological implications but will also help to identify the nature/extent of damage associated with coronavirus infection and its immediate management in patients with neurological diseases.

(Dr Rajnish Chaturvedi is a neuroscientist working at the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow)