**7. Conclusions**

In this chapter, we have discussed the neurotropic nature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Using human and animal model studies, research groups across the globe have found out that neuroinvasion can occur by multiple routes, leading to dysfunctions of multiple cell types in the nervous system. The impairments that arise due to infection, which are collectively referred to as the Neuro-COVID, have also been summarized. Some of these symptoms persist in recovered individuals pointing to long-lasting consequences of the infection, which encompass the term Long COVID. We conclude that the virus can play havoc at multiple scales of the nervous system functioning, and the severity depends upon several factors such as the route and extent of infection, variant of the virus, and comorbidities in the patients. Finally, the under-appreciated sense of smell has indeed come into limelight, and the need for quantifying the olfactory and cognitive fitness has become vital during the pandemic. We, hereby, conclude that olfaction can be efficiently used in detecting the infection as well as providing a tool for investigating the cognitive capacities of human beings.

### **Acknowledgements**

We thank Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behaviour (LNCB) members for fruitful discussions and comments on the Manuscript.

This work was supported by the DST-Cognitive Science Research Initiative, (DST/CSRI/2017/271 to N.A.), DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance intermediate grant (IA/I/14/1/501306 to N.A.), and IISER-Pune Fellowship (M.P.).
