Dissociated Components of Executive Control in Acute Hypobaric Hypoxia
INTRODUCTION: The neurocognitive effects of acute hypobaric hypoxia are still largely unknown. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that executive control, an important component of cognition, is especially vulnerable to hypoxia.
METHODS: Subjects participated in a simulated hypobaric chamber flight to 5500 m. Four auditory tasks were presented before, during, and after hypoxia: 1) Voice, and 2) Name variant of the Stroop task (both measuring conflict resolution); 3) go/no-go task (GNG; measuring inhibition); and 4) two-choice reaction time task (CRT; which is a noninhibitory control task).
RESULTS: The Stroop effect increased during hypoxia: in the Voice Stroop it increased from 49.4 to 83.6 ms for reaction time and from 4.1 to 12.3% for accuracy; in the Name Stroop from 43.5 to 82.9 ms for reaction time (accuracy remained unchanged). Accuracy declined from 82.3 to 75.0% in CRT, and from 85.8 to 77.5% (averaged over stimulus types) in the GNG task. Importantly, accuracy decreased similarly to go and no-go stimuli in the GNG task, revealing unaffected inhibition.
DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that tasks requiring conflict resolution are more likely to be impaired than tasks requiring inhibition of response. Furthermore, our results provide evidence for the distinct nature of inhibitory control functions.
Takács E, Czigler I, Pató LG, Balázs L. Dissociated components of executive control in acute hypobaric hypoxia. Aerosp Med Hu Perform. 2017; 88(12):1081–1087.
METHODS: Subjects participated in a simulated hypobaric chamber flight to 5500 m. Four auditory tasks were presented before, during, and after hypoxia: 1) Voice, and 2) Name variant of the Stroop task (both measuring conflict resolution); 3) go/no-go task (GNG; measuring inhibition); and 4) two-choice reaction time task (CRT; which is a noninhibitory control task).
RESULTS: The Stroop effect increased during hypoxia: in the Voice Stroop it increased from 49.4 to 83.6 ms for reaction time and from 4.1 to 12.3% for accuracy; in the Name Stroop from 43.5 to 82.9 ms for reaction time (accuracy remained unchanged). Accuracy declined from 82.3 to 75.0% in CRT, and from 85.8 to 77.5% (averaged over stimulus types) in the GNG task. Importantly, accuracy decreased similarly to go and no-go stimuli in the GNG task, revealing unaffected inhibition.
DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that tasks requiring conflict resolution are more likely to be impaired than tasks requiring inhibition of response. Furthermore, our results provide evidence for the distinct nature of inhibitory control functions.
Takács E, Czigler I, Pató LG, Balázs L. Dissociated components of executive control in acute hypobaric hypoxia. Aerosp Med Hu Perform. 2017; 88(12):1081–1087.
Keywords: Stroop; executive function; go/no-go task; two-choice reaction time task
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 December 2017
- This journal (formerly Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine), representing the members of the Aerospace Medical Association, is published monthly for those interested in aerospace medicine and human performance. It is devoted to serving and supporting all who explore, travel, work, or live in hazardous environments ranging from beneath the sea to the outermost reaches of space. The original scientific articles in this journal provide the latest available information on investigations into such areas as changes in ambient pressure, motion sickness, increased or decreased gravitational forces, thermal stresses, vision, fatigue, circadian rhythms, psychological stress, artificial environments, predictors of success, health maintenance, human factors engineering, clinical care, and others. This journal also publishes notes on scientific news and technical items of interest to the general reader, and provides teaching material and reviews for health care professionals.
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