Effects of acute hypoxia on human cognitive processing: a study using ERPs and SEPs

Abstract

Although hypoxia has the potential to impair the cognitive function, the effects of acute hypoxia on the high-order brain function (executive and/or inhibitory processing) and somatosensory ascending processing remain unknown. We tested the hypothesis that acute hypoxia impairs both motor executive and inhibitory processing and somatosensory ascending processing. Fifteen healthy subjects performed two sessions ( sessions 1 and 2), consisting of electroencephalographic event-related potentials with somatosensory Go/No-go paradigms and somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) under two conditions (hypoxia and normoxia) on different days. On 1 day, participants breathed room air in the first and second sessions of the experiment; on the other day, participants breathed room air in the first session, and 12% O2 in the second session. Acute hypoxia reduced the peak amplitudes of Go-P300 and No-go-P300, and delayed the peak latency of Go-P300. However, no significant differences were observed in the peak amplitude or latency of N140, behavioral data, or the amplitudes and latencies of individual SEP components between the two conditions. These results suggest that acute hypoxia impaired neural activity in motor executive and inhibitory processing, and delayed higher cognitive processing for motor execution, whereas neural activity in somatosensory processing was not affected by acute hypoxia. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Hypoxia has the potential to impair the cognitive function, but the effects of acute hypoxia on the cognitive function remain debatable. We investigated the effects of acute hypoxia on human cognitive processing using electroencephalographic event-related potentials and somatosensory-evoked potentials. Acute normobaric hypoxia impaired neural activity in motor executive and inhibitory processing, but no significant differences were observed in neural activity in somatosensory processing.