Abstract
To investigate the effects of high-altitude exposure on response inhibition, event-related potential (ERP) components N2 and P3 were measured in Go/NoGo task. The participants included an ‘immigrant’ high-altitude group (who had lived at high altitude for three years but born at low altitude) and a low-altitude group (living in low altitude only). Although the behavioural data showed no significant differences between the two groups, a delayed latency of NoGo-N2 was found in the high-altitude group compared to the low-altitude group. Moreover, larger N2 and smaller P3 amplitudes were found in the high-altitude group compared to the low-altitude group, for both the Go and NoGo conditions. These findings suggest that high-altitude exposure affects response inhibition with regard to processing speed during the conflict monitoring stage. In addition, high altitude generally increases the neural activity in the matching step of information processing and attentional resources. These results may provide some insights into the neurocognitive basis of the effects on high-altitude exposure on response inhibition.
Highlights
As of 2006, approximately 12 million people resided in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau[1]
Structural modification of the inferior and middle frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in a group of people born and raised at high altitude was found in chronic hypoxia research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)[5,6]
Compared with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and MRI techniques, event-related potentials (ERPs) have high temporal resolution and can provide more insight into the time course of brain processes, making it possible to determine which stage of response inhibition processing is affected by high-altitude exposure[7]
Summary
As of 2006, approximately 12 million people resided in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau[1]. More and more people who were born and raised in low-altitude areas are travelling or working in Tibet (average altitude over 4000 m) Living at such a high altitude, the largest and most important impact is hypoxia, which occurs because of a reduction of oxygen in the air and which affects cognition. The study of cognitive impairment due to high-altitude hypoxia in people who were born and raised in low-altitude areas and relocated in Tibet is increasingly important. We aimed to investigate the time course of the impact of chronic high-altitude exposure on the response inhibition process using ERPs in a Go/NoGo paradigm. We did not find any long-term high-altitude exposure study using the Go/NoGo task to discuss the influence of high-altitude hypoxia on response inhibition. For the ERP results, the high-altitude effect on inhibition should be reflected in the N2 and P3 components; we predicted smaller and later NoGo-N2 components and smaller NoGo-P3 amplitudes would be found in the high-altitude group
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
