Abstract
Purpose: Previous research has evaluated the effects of acute hypoxia exposure on cognitive function, notably executive function. No studies, to date, have evaluated the effects of acute hypoxia exposure on memory interference, which was the purpose of this experiment. Methods: A within-subjects, counterbalanced experimental design was employed, with condition (hypoxia vs. normoxia) and time (immediate vs. delayed) being the independent variables. Participants (N = 21; Mage = 21.0 years) completed two laboratory visits, involving 30 min of exposure to either hypoxia (FIO2 = 0.12) or normoxia (FIO2 = 0.21). Following this, they completed a memory interference task (AB/AC paradigm), assessing immediate and delayed proactive and retroactive interference. Results: For retroactive interference, we observed a significant main effect for condition, F(1, 20) = 5.48, p = 0.03, ƞ2 = 0.10, condition by time interaction, F(1, 20) = 4.96, p = 0.03, ƞ2 = 0.01, but no main effect for time, F(1, 20) = 1.75, p = 0.20, ƞ2 = 0.004. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that acute hypoxia exposure was facilitative in reducing memory interference. We discuss these findings in the context of the potential therapeutic effects of acute hypoxia exposure on synaptic plasticity.
Highlights
Various populations, such as mountaineers or mountain rescuers, may be at risk of cognitive dysfunction when ascending to higher altitudes
Error bars represent standard errors. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of normoxia/hypoxia on proactive
The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of normoxia/hypoxia on proactive and retroactive memory interference
Summary
Various populations, such as mountaineers or mountain rescuers, may be at risk of cognitive dysfunction when ascending to higher altitudes. We recently evaluated the effects of acute (30 min) moderate hypoxia (partial pressure of inspired oxygen (PIO2 ): 117 mmHg; fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO2 ): 0.154; altitude equivalent of 2500 m) on reaction time and central executive cognitive performance (Go/No-Go task) [7]. We evaluated the effects of acute (10 min) severe hypoxia (PIO2 : 87 mmHg; FIO2 : 0.12; altitude equivalent of 4000 m) on central executive cognitive performance (Go/No-Go task) [8]. Other recent work (N = 15, Mage = 21.9 years) demonstrates that 30 min of severe acute hypoxia (equivalent to 4500 m) does not impair behavioral performance on a central executive cognitive task (i.e., Go/No-Go task), but does impair neural activity during inhibitory processing The ultimate goal of this research was to establish this potential memory interference effect, and in our subsequent research, evaluate the effects of other behaviors (e.g., acute exercise) on attenuating this potential hypoxia-induced memory interference effect
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