Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Correlates of High-Altitude Hypoxia Trekking During the “Gokyo Khumbu/Ama Dablam” Expedition

Committeri, Giorgia; Bondi, Danilo; Sestieri, Carlo; Matteo, Ginevra Di; Piervincenzi, Claudia; Doria, Christian; Ruffini, R.; Baldassarre, Antonello; Pietrangelo, Tiziana; Sepe, Rosamaria; Navarra, Riccardo; Chiacchiaretta, Piero; Ferretti, Andrea; Verratti, Vittore

doi:10.1089/ham.2021.0029

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Among the cognitive functions that are most likely to be affected by hypoxia as described in previous studies are attention and simple reactivity (Ray et al, 2019). However, in other research, short-term exposure did not produce either of these cognitive impairments or detrimental effects on neuroimaging measures below an extremely high altitude (Committeri et al, 2022). Possibly lack of oxygen (as at the altitudes of the current study) was compensated for by carotid body-initiated responses and cerebral blood flow adaptations sufficient to prevent cerebral impairment (McMorris et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Investigating Auditory Perception at Europe’s Highest Mountain Lodge

et al. 2023

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Altitude hypoxia can impair sensory and cognitive functions, from causing slowed responses to sensory hallucinations. In a field study, we tested 12 expeditioners at varied altitudes (low: 1696 m; high: 4556 m) with a simple auditory detection task and a dichotic listening paradigm in which a voice was presented, lateralized, within a binaural white noise stream. Slower reaction times and a reduced right ear advantage might be expected at high (vs. low) altitude, due to hypoxia. The participants’ performances on both tasks did not differ between conditions, revealing that these functions are resistant to short-term hypoxia in young healthy adults.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Investigating Auditory Perception at Europe’s Highest Mountain Lodge

et al. 2023

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“…During prolonged exposure, neurodegeneration in different brain regions occurs along with impairments in motor performance, sensorimotor skills, cognition, and cellular energy machinery. , HA also causes a variety of behavioral disturbances, such as anxiety, depression, and increased suicide risk. Growing evidence from various researchers as well as epidemiological data suggests a positive link between suicide and depression and between the altitude of residence. ,− …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kynurenines Dynamics in the Periphery and Central Nervous System Steers Behavioral Deficits in Rats under Hypobaric Hypoxia

Verma,

Amitabh,

Prasad

et al. 2024

ACS Chem. Neurosci.

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People travel to high-altitude regions as tourists, workers, and military personnel on duty. Despite the consistent 21% oxygen content in the atmosphere, ascending to higher altitudes results in a decrease in the partial pressure of oxygen, inducing a state known as hypobaric hypoxia (HH). HH is an environmental stress that is responsible for neuroinflammation and behavioral deficits (anxiety, depression, mood disturbance, etc.), but little is known about its metabolic pathways. The kynurenine pathway (KP) is a promising candidate to uncover the mysteries of HH stress, as it is an important regulator of the immune system and is associated with behavioral deficits. To investigate the role of KP under HH, the levels of KP metabolites in the serum, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and brain tissue (prefrontal cortex-PFC, neocortex, and hippocampus) of male Sprague–Dawley rats exposed to HH at 7620 m for 1, 3, and 7 days were estimated utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The behavioral analogs for anxiety-like and depression-like behavior were assessed using the open field test and forced swim test, respectively. Upon HH exposure, crosstalk between the periphery and central nervous system and KP metabolite region-dependent differential expression in the brain were observed. KP metabolites showed a positive correlation with behavioral parameters. The results of our study are indicative that KP can be proposed as the etiology of behavioral deficits, and KP metabolite levels in serum or CSF can be used as plausible markers for anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors under HH stress with a scope of targeted therapeutic interventions.

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