Institute of Brain Diseases and Cognition, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disease and Aging Research, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
Plateau Brain Science Research Centre, Tibet University, Lhasa 850012, China.
Neuroscience. 2023 Jun 1;520:134-143. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.01.019. Epub 2023 Jan 28.
Tibetans have adapted to high altitude environments. However, the genetic effects in their brains have not been identified. Twenty-five native Tibetans living in Lhasa (3650 m) were recruited for comparison with 20 Han immigrants who originated from lowlands and had been living in Lhasa for two years. The physiological characteristics, brain structure and neuronal spontaneous activity were investigated. Compared with Han immigrants, Tibetans showed higher peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO), and lower heart rate, red blood cell counts, hematocrit, and hemoglobin. Tibetans showed increased gray matter volume in the visual cortex, hippocampus, and rectus; increased the amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) values in the left putamen and left fusiform gyrus; and decreased voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) values in the precentral gyrus. Moreover, Tibetans have decreased functional connectivity (FC) between the left precentral gyrus and the frontal gyrusand right precuneus. In Tibetans and Han immigrants, hemoglobin and hematocrit were negatively correlated with total gray matter volume in males, SpO was also positively correlated with ALFF in the left fusiform gyrus, while hemoglobin, and hematocrit were positively correlated with VMHC in the precentral gyrus and FC in the precentral gyrus with other brain regions, SpO was also found to be negatively correlated with VMHC in the precentral gyrus, and hemoglobin and hematocrit were negatively correlated with ALFF in the left putamen and left fusiform gyrus. In summary, genetic mutations may result in modulation of some brain regions, which was further confirmed by the identification of correlations with hemoglobin and hematocrit in these regions.
藏人已经适应了高海拔环境。然而，他们大脑中的遗传影响尚未确定。招募了 25 名居住在拉萨（3650 米）的本地藏人和 20 名原籍低地、在拉萨居住了两年的汉族移民进行比较。研究了他们的生理特征、大脑结构和神经元自发活动。与汉族移民相比，藏人外周血氧饱和度（SpO）较高，心率、红细胞计数、血细胞比容和血红蛋白较低。藏人表现出视皮层、海马体和直肌的灰质体积增加；左侧壳核和左侧梭状回的低频波动幅度（ALFF）值增加；中央前回的体素镜像同伦连接（VMHC）值降低。此外，藏人左侧中央前回与额回和右侧楔前叶之间的功能连接（FC）降低。在藏人和汉族移民中，血红蛋白和血细胞比容与男性总灰质体积呈负相关，SpO 与左侧梭状回的 ALFF 呈正相关，而血红蛋白和血细胞比容与中央前回的 VMHC 和中央前回与其他脑区的 FC 呈正相关，SpO 与中央前回的 VMHC 呈负相关，血红蛋白和血细胞比容与左侧壳核和左侧梭状回的 ALFF 呈负相关。总之，遗传突变可能导致一些大脑区域的调节，这通过鉴定这些区域与血红蛋白和血细胞比容的相关性得到进一步证实。
