Abstract
BackgroundCognitive impairment is common in people travelling to high altitude. Oxiracetam and electrical stimulation of cerebellar fastigial nucleus may have beneficial impacts. This study was to investigate the effects of preconditioning with Oxiracetam or fastigial nucleus stimulation (FNS) on cognitive decline following the ascension to high altitude.MethodsThe study was conducted on 60 male military voluntary members who were divided into control group, Oxiracetam group, and fastigial nucleus stimulation group. Transcranial doppler sonography, auditory evoked potential, electroencephalogram (EEG), and cognitive assessments were performed.ResultsPeople could still suffer cognitive dysfunction at 4,000 m high altitude despite that they have lived at 1,800 m altitude for several years. The 4,000 m altitude environment also prolonged P300 and N200 latencies. Both Oxiracetam and FNS improved cognitive function, reduced the prolonged latencies of Event Related Potentials (P300 and N200), decreased the average velocity of brain arteries, and enhanced EEG power spectral entropy at 4,000 m altitude.ConclusionsNeurophysiological evidences suggest the underlying mechanism of cognitive impairments. Both Oxiracetam and FNS can reduce cognitive decline post arrival at high altitude. They could be a potential pretreatment method for cognitive dysfunction resulted from high altitude.
Highlights
There are more and more people travelling to high altitude regions for various aims including recreation, religion, business, athletic training, and military tasks in recent years
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pretreatment with Oxiracetam or fastigial nucleus stimulation (FNS) on cognitive impairments following the ascension to 4,000 m altitude using cognitive assessments and auditory evoked potential (AEP), transcranial doppler sonography (TCD), and electroencephalogram (EEG) detections
We firstly explored the effects of Oxiracetam and FNS on the cognitive performance of people that went to 4,000 m high altitude from 1,800 m altitude using various rating scales including number cancellation test (NCT), number search test (NST), and digit symbol substitution test (DSST)
Summary
There are more and more people travelling to high altitude regions for various aims including recreation, religion, business, athletic training, and military tasks in recent years. A wide range of past studies have demonstrated that hypoxia at high altitude induces neurophysiological conditions such as dizziness, insomnia, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue, and even possibly high altitude pulmonary edema, and cerebral edema that is potentially fatal (Basnyat & Murdoch, 2003). It could trigger neurocognitive dysfunction including learning, memory, language, vision, and mood (Hu, Xiong, Dai, Zhao, & Feng, 2016; Wilson, Newman, & Imray, 2009). Conclusions: Neurophysiological evidences suggest the underlying mechanism of cognitive impairments Both Oxiracetam and FNS can reduce cognitive decline post arrival at high altitude. They could be a potential pretreatment method for cognitive dysfunction resulted from high altitude
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