Acute Exercise Impairs Cognitive Function at High Altitude
Journal Articles
Overview
Research
Identity
Additional Document Info
View All
Overview
abstract
Ascent to high altitude can impair aspects of cognitive function in an altitude‐dependent manner. Interestingly, a single bout of aerobic exercise transiently improves cognitive function in normobaric hypoxia, suggesting that aerobic exercise may be an effective strategy for improving brain function at altitude, but this phenomenon has yet to be explored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a single bout of aerobic exercise on cognitive function at low and high altitude in the Nepal Himalaya. Fifteen healthy volunteers (24.1±3.5yrs; 9 females) performed 20 minutes of aerobic exercise at 40–60% of their heart rate (HR) reserve at low (1400m) and high altitude (4370m) after 7 days of incremental ascent. Ascent‐related physiological data were collected in the morning before exercise including arterial blood pressure, HR, peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, end‐tidal CO2 (PETCO2), and acute mountain sickness (AMS) scores. During exercise, participants wore HR monitors in order to maintain HR within the prescribed intensity zone. Cognitive function was assessed before and 10‐min after exercise using a battery of standardized iPad‐based tests (BrainBaseline, Digital Artefacts). A 2‐factor (Time × Condition) repeated measures analysis of variance was performed to examine differences in cognitive function before and after exercise (Time) at low and high altitude (Condition). Exploratory correlations were performed to investigate the relationship between changes in physiological measures with high‐altitude ascent and during exercise and changes in cognitive function. There was a significant interaction between altitude and exercise on a test of processing speed, working memory, and visuospatial attention, such that performance worsened following exercise at high altitude (P=0.02). In contrast, task‐switching abilities and inhibitory control remained unchanged after exercise. Higher baseline hemoglobin was associated with a decline in cognitive performance following exercise at high altitude (r= −0.58, P=0.01), whereas higher baseline PETCO2 was associated with improved cognitive performance following exercise at high altitude (r=0.54, P=0.03). Interestingly, there was no relationship between AMS scores and changes in cognitive function. In conclusion, acute aerobic exercise performed at high altitude impairs some measures of cognitive function, which may be impacted by physiological acclimatization during ascent. Future work should investigate the persistence of this post‐exercise decrement in cognitive function to help inform recommendations regarding decision‐making behaviors following exercise at high‐altitude.Support or Funding InformationNSERC Discovery, NSERC PGS, and Wilderness Medical Society Research In‐Training AwardThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
