Department of Cognition Sciences and Stress Medicine, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, No. 27 Taiping Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Pflugers Arch. 2024 Feb;476(2):197-210. doi: 10.1007/s00424-023-02885-x. Epub 2023 Nov 23.
Intermittent hypoxia training (IHT) is a promising approach that has been used to induce acclimatization to hypoxia and subsequently lower the risk of developing acute mountain sickness (AMS). However, the effects of IHT on cognitive and cerebrovascular function after acute hypoxia exposure have not been characterized. In the present study, we first confirmed that the simplified IHT paradigm was effective at relieving AMS at 4300 m. Second, we found that IHT improved participants' cognitive and neural alterations when they were exposed to hypoxia. Specifically, impaired working memory performance, decreased conflict control function, impaired cognitive control, and aggravated mental fatigue induced by acute hypoxia exposure were significantly alleviated in the IHT group. Furthermore, a reversal of brain swelling induced by acute hypoxia exposure was visualized in the IHT group using magnetic resonance imaging. An increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF) was observed in multiple brain regions of the IHT group after hypoxia exposure as compared with the control group. Based on these findings, the simplified IHT paradigm might facilitate hypoxia acclimatization, alleviate AMS symptoms, and increase CBF in multiple brain regions, thus ameliorating brain swelling and cognitive dysfunction.
间歇性低氧训练（IHT）是一种很有前途的方法，已被用于诱导对低氧的适应，从而降低发生急性高原病（AMS）的风险。然而，IHT 对急性低氧暴露后认知和脑血管功能的影响尚未得到描述。在本研究中，我们首先证实了简化的 IHT 方案在 4300 米高度有效缓解 AMS。其次，我们发现 IHT 改善了参与者在低氧环境下的认知和神经改变。具体来说，急性低氧暴露引起的工作记忆能力受损、冲突控制功能下降、认知控制受损和精神疲劳加重在 IHT 组中得到了明显缓解。此外，磁共振成像显示 IHT 组可逆转急性低氧暴露引起的脑肿胀。与对照组相比，IHT 组在急性低氧暴露后多个脑区的脑血流（CBF）增加。基于这些发现，简化的 IHT 方案可能促进低氧适应，缓解 AMS 症状，并增加多个脑区的 CBF，从而改善脑肿胀和认知功能障碍。
