Impact of high-altitude exposure on cerebral lobe functions in climbers: insights from the Nepali Himalayas.

IF 3.1 4区医学 Q2 NEUROSCIENCES

Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience Pub Date : 2025-05-30 eCollection Date: 2025-01-01 DOI:10.3389/fnsys.2025.1563398

Sunil Dhungel, Shavana R L Rana, Arun Kumar Neopane, Barun Mahat, Bipin Kumar Shrestha, Yesha Shree Rajaure, Bikalp Thapa, Naveen Phuyal, Naresh Manandhar, Udaya Shrestha, Suraj Parajuli, Taraman Amatya

{"title":"Impact of high-altitude exposure on cerebral lobe functions in climbers: insights from the Nepali Himalayas.","authors":"Sunil Dhungel, Shavana R L Rana, Arun Kumar Neopane, Barun Mahat, Bipin Kumar Shrestha, Yesha Shree Rajaure, Bikalp Thapa, Naveen Phuyal, Naresh Manandhar, Udaya Shrestha, Suraj Parajuli, Taraman Amatya","doi":"10.3389/fnsys.2025.1563398","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: High-altitude environments challenge cognitive function due to hypoxia, yet their specific effects on cerebral lobe functions remain unclear. This study examines the impact of high-altitude exposure on frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes in climbers in the Nepali Himalayas, aiming to enhance understanding of altitude-related cognitive decline.Methods: A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted with 76 participants, including 46 non-selected individuals (NOSCL) and 30 selected climbers divided into Everest (EMCL, n = 12), Kanchanjanga (KMCL, n = 9), and Manaslu (MMCL, n = 9) groups. Cognitive function tests (CFT) assessed cerebral lobe function at altitudes ranging from 800 to 5,500 meters using a non-invasive neuropsychological battery.Results: Significant altitude-related declines were observed in frontal lobe function, particularly in the Visual Stroop test at 800 meters (75%, p < 0.001) and 2,700 meters (86.1%, p < 0.001). Attention scores also decreased at 800 meters (94.4%, p = 0.002). No significant changes were found in parietal, temporal, or occipital lobe functions. The Manaslu climb presented greater cognitive challenges than Everest or Kanchanjanga, with reduced attention and social cognition scores at 4,800 meters (p = 0.145).Discussion: The findings indicate that frontal lobe functions are particularly vulnerable to hypoxia at high altitudes. The results support the necessity of region-specific cognitive testing for high-altitude risk assessments. Further research should explore long-term cognitive effects and mitigation strategies for climbers exposed to extreme altitude conditions.","PeriodicalId":12649,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1563398"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12162956/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2025.1563398","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: High-altitude environments challenge cognitive function due to hypoxia, yet their specific effects on cerebral lobe functions remain unclear. This study examines the impact of high-altitude exposure on frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes in climbers in the Nepali Himalayas, aiming to enhance understanding of altitude-related cognitive decline.

Methods: A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted with 76 participants, including 46 non-selected individuals (NOSCL) and 30 selected climbers divided into Everest (EMCL, n = 12), Kanchanjanga (KMCL, n = 9), and Manaslu (MMCL, n = 9) groups. Cognitive function tests (CFT) assessed cerebral lobe function at altitudes ranging from 800 to 5,500 meters using a non-invasive neuropsychological battery.

Results: Significant altitude-related declines were observed in frontal lobe function, particularly in the Visual Stroop test at 800 meters (75%, p < 0.001) and 2,700 meters (86.1%, p < 0.001). Attention scores also decreased at 800 meters (94.4%, p = 0.002). No significant changes were found in parietal, temporal, or occipital lobe functions. The Manaslu climb presented greater cognitive challenges than Everest or Kanchanjanga, with reduced attention and social cognition scores at 4,800 meters (p = 0.145).

Discussion: The findings indicate that frontal lobe functions are particularly vulnerable to hypoxia at high altitudes. The results support the necessity of region-specific cognitive testing for high-altitude risk assessments. Further research should explore long-term cognitive effects and mitigation strategies for climbers exposed to extreme altitude conditions.

查看原文本刊更多论文

高海拔暴露对登山者脑叶功能的影响：来自尼泊尔喜马拉雅山脉的见解。

引言：高海拔环境因缺氧而挑战认知功能，但其对大脑叶功能的具体影响尚不清楚。本研究考察了高海拔暴露对尼泊尔喜马拉雅地区登山者额叶、顶叶、颞叶和枕叶的影响，旨在加强对海拔相关认知衰退的理解。方法：采用横断面队列研究方法，76名参与者，包括46名非入选个体（NOSCL）和30名入选登山者，分为Everest组（EMCL, n = 12）、Kanchanjanga组（KMCL, n = 9）和Manaslu组（MMCL, n = 9）。认知功能测试（CFT）使用非侵入性神经心理学电池评估在海拔800至5500米范围内的脑叶功能。结果：前额叶功能明显与海拔相关，特别是在800米（75%,p < 0.001）和2700米（86.1%,p < 0.001）的视觉Stroop测试中。注意得分在800米处也有所下降（94.4%,p = 0.002）。顶叶、颞叶或枕叶功能未见明显变化。攀登马纳斯鲁峰比攀登珠穆朗玛峰或坎chanjanga峰面临更大的认知挑战，在海拔4800米时注意力和社会认知得分较低（p = 0.145）。讨论：研究结果表明，额叶功能在高海拔地区特别容易受到缺氧的影响。研究结果支持了在高海拔风险评估中进行特定区域认知测试的必要性。进一步的研究应该探索暴露在极端海拔条件下的登山者的长期认知影响和缓解策略。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience Neuroscience-Developmental Neuroscience

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

3.30%

发文量

144

审稿时长

14 weeks

期刊介绍： Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience publishes rigorously peer-reviewed research that advances our understanding of whole systems of the brain, including those involved in sensation, movement, learning and memory, attention, reward, decision-making, reasoning, executive functions, and emotions.