ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Syst. Neurosci.
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2025.1563398
Impact of High-Altitude Exposure on Cerebral Lobe Functions in Climbers: Insights from the Nepali Himalayas
Provisionally accepted
Sunil Dhungel1,2*
Shavana Rana3
Arun Neopane4
Barun Mahat3Bipin Shrestha3Yeshashree Rajaure3Bikalp Thapa3Naveen Phuyal5Naresh Manandhar5Udaya Shrestha6
Suraj Parajuli7Taraman Amatya3- 1Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Medical University of the Americas – Nevis, Devens, Massachusetts, United States
- 2Human Physiology, Department of Human Physiology, Nepalese Army Institute of Health Science, Kathmandu, Nepal
- 3Department of Human Physiology, Nepalese Army Institute of Health Science, Kathmandu, Nepal
- 4Department of Pediatrics, Shree Birendra Hospital, College of Medicine, Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Kathmandu, Nepal
- 5Department of Community Medicine, Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
- 6Shree Birendra Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
- 7Medical University of the Americas – Nevis, Devens, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States
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High-altitude environments pose significant challenges to cognitive function due to hypoxia, but the specific effects on cerebral lobe functions remain poorly understood. This study investigated the impact of high-altitude exposure on the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes of climbers in the Nepali Himalayas using a non-invasive neuropsychological battery. A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted with 76 participants, including 46 non-selected individuals (NOSCL) and 30 selected climbers divided into three groups: Everest (EMCL, n=12), Kanchanjanga (KMCL, n=9), and Manaslu (MMCL, n=9). Cerebral lobe function tests (CFT) were administered at altitudes ranging from 800 to 5,500 meters. Results revealed significant altitude-related declines in frontal lobe functions, 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). Parietal, temporal, and occipital lobe functions showed no significant changes. The Manaslu climb posed greater cognitive challenges than Everest or Kanchanjanga, with reduced attention and social cognition scores at 4,800 meters (p=0.145). These findings highlight the frontal lobe's vulnerability to hypoxia and support the use of region-specific cognitive testing in highaltitude risk assessment.
Keywords: Cerebral lobe function, Acclimatation, Nepal, hypoxia, high- altitude
Received: 19 Jan 2025; Accepted: 08 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dhungel, Rana, Neopane, Mahat, Shrestha, Rajaure, Thapa, Phuyal, Manandhar, Shrestha, Parajuli and Amatya. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sunil Dhungel, Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Medical University of the Americas – Nevis, Devens, Massachusetts, United States
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