The Effect of 20 Minutes Scuba Diving on Cognitive Function of Professional Scuba Divers

Pourhashemi, S.F.; Sahraei, Hedayat; Meftahi, Gholam Hossein; Hatef, Boshra; Gholipour, Bahareh

doi:10.5812/asjsm.38633

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The SCUBA divers in our study were all well‐trained professional divers, whereas those of the study by Pourhashemi et al. () were recreational divers much less experienced in diving. Furthermore, the hyperbaric O 2 inspired during SCUBA diving might counterbalanced the effect of the cold immersion response by reducing the physiological stress level.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…The lack of an increase in blood cortisol levels measured after the SCUBA dive is at odds with the increased saliva cortisol and decrease in cognitive performance observed by Pourhashemi et al. (). However, it agrees with the other studies showing no increase in stress hormone (Weist et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…) likely mediated through hyperbaric O 2 , and have been linked to reduced cognitive performance (Pourhashemi et al. ) and stress cardiomyopathy (Baber et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physiological stress markers during breath‐hold diving and SCUBA diving

et al. 2019

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This study investigated the sources of physiological stress in diving by comparing SCUBA dives (stressors: hydrostatic pressure, cold, and hyperoxia), apneic dives (hydrostatic pressure, cold, physical activity, hypoxia), and dry static apnea (hypoxia only). We hypothesized that despite the hypoxia induces by a long static apnea, it would be less stressful than SCUBA dive or apneic dives since the latter combined high pressure, physical activity, and cold exposure. Blood samples were collected from 12 SCUBA and 12 apnea divers before and after dives. On a different occasion, samples were collected from the apneic group before and after a maximal static dry apnea. We measured changes in levels of the stress hormones cortisol and copeptin in each situation. To identify localized effects of the stress, we measured levels of the cardiac injury markers troponin ( cTnI ) and brain natriuretic peptide ( BNP ), the muscular stress markers myoglobin and lactate), and the hypoxemia marker ischemia‐modified albumin ( IMA ). Copeptin, cortisol, and IMA levels increased for the apneic dive and the static dry apnea, whereas they decreased for the SCUBA dive. Troponin, BNP , and myoglobin levels increased for the apneic dive, but were unchanged for the SCUBA dive and the static dry apnea. We conclude that hypoxia induced by apnea is the dominant trigger for the release of stress hormones and cardiac injury markers, whereas cold or and hyperbaric exposures play a minor role. These results indicate that subjects should be screened carefully for pre‐existing cardiac diseases before undertaking significant apneic maneuvers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

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Physiological stress markers during breath‐hold diving and SCUBA diving

et al. 2019

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“…Recent literature has documented effects of diving on cognitive functions (Kowalski et al, 2011; Ergen et al, 2017; Howle et al, 2017; Bosco et al, 2018; Verratti et al, 2019). Some of these studies have reported decreased mental flexibility (Cordes et al, 2000), as well as lower verbal memory and intelligence (Hemelryck et al, 2014), sustained attention in divers reporting memory and concentration loss (Taylor et al, 2006), and decrease average response speed (Pourhashemi et al, 2016). Further, we expected that a high number of dives (at least 2,000) with compressed air is able to alter the quality of brain WM, evaluated by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), determining cognitive impairments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive Deficits and White Matter Alterations in Highly Trained Scuba Divers

et al. 2019

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Nitrogen gas (N2), present in the normal atmospheric air, is a potential source of risk for scuba divers. It seems probable that myelin can represent, in hyperbaric conditions, a preferential site for the accumulation of N2 in central nervous system (CNS). The purpose of this study is to verify whether the practice of the scuba diving is capable to determine a damage of the brain white matter (WM) in a dose dependent manner and, consequently, possible deficiency of their cognitive abilities. For this purpose, 54 professional scuba divers (35 men and 19 women), with at least 2,000 dives in their careers, were studied. Possible alterations of brain WM were evaluated in terms of Fractional anisotropy (FA) by using Diffusion Tensor Imaging, whereas possible cognitive impairments were verified by means of neuropsychological testing, by studying: (1) General mental capability (2) Executive functioning; (3) Visuospatial construction such as Rey Complex Figure; (4) Attention and orientation: (5) Selective attention capacity and processing speed ability; (6) Memory. The results showed alteration of the WM in terms of changes in FA; these alterations, statistically significant but quantitatively quite modest, were mainly observed in the WM of the anterior part of the brain, whereas no differences were observed between left and right hemisphere. The alterations of the WM were associated with changes, also in this case statistically significant but quantitatively quite modest, of the cognitive functions, in particular of those dependent on the prefrontal cortex, such as attention and memory function. The present study leads to the conclusion that repeated dives, even performed in compliance with the current decompression tables, can progressively lead in the CNS to the formation of micro-lesions in the myelin sheet capable of altering the functioning of the neuron.

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“…The main reason behind the development of PASAT was to assess the influence of brain lesion on cognitive function of the brain in soldiers or patients with wide and various ranges of neurological and psychological syndromes. However, several studies have been carried out by this software for assessing cognitive functions under different conditions, including time change (12), diving (13), and sport (14). These experiments have proved that PASAT is a useful tool for assessing the effect of stress on cognitive function.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%