Long Term Effects of High Altitude on Brain Function

Abstract

Absence of oxygen to the brain for even a very few minutes results in loss of consciousness and can cause permanent injury. Can the wanderer to the limits of earth-bound hypoxia suffer similar harm from more prolonged exposure to milder hypoxia that does not cause loss of consciousness? I shall review the results from studies where neurobehavioral function has been compared in mountaineers before and after return from great heights and in individuals with chronic pulmonary disease before and after prolonged, continuous oxygen therapy. Many (although not all) of these studies report mild impairment of neurobehavioral function after fairly prolonged hypoxic exposure. Impairment was manifest by deficits in memory storage and recall, aphasia, concentration, and finger tapping speed; the last deficit was still detectable a year later in one group of mountaineers. Limited evidence suggests that climbers with a high ventilatory response to hypoxia (HVR) may be more susceptible to impairment than those with a lower HVR.

Key words

Hypoxia - brain - memory - ventilatory response to hypoxia