Does the Moderate Altitude Environment Impair the Words of our Memory?

ntroduction: It is known that hypoxia affects human physiology and consequently impairs cognitive functions. In particular, low memory performances are common in a hypoxic extreme altitude environment.

Aims: The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of moderate hypoxia on the specific words of memory and the persisting effects after hypoxia exposure.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Neurophysiology Laboratory in the Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Science (University of Chieti) in two distinct times: before and after the departure for the Ararat mountain expedition.

Methods: Seven (7) volunteers climbed to a moderate altitude and underwent a cognitive assessment before and after the expedition, by using the 15-Rey Words test. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and two tailed t-tests were used. Data were analyzed with STATISTICA-Soft 8.0.

Results: Our results suggested a relevant impairment of words and verbal memory as well as a false recognition of words after the expedition. No significant results were found in the recognition of words memorised.

Conclusion: The moderate altitude hypoxia affects the memory of words for one week. In accordance with previous investigations, we could deduct that altitude-hypoxia is an important experimental model to study human cognitive impairment.