Detrimental Effects of Hypoxia on Brain and Cognitive Functions

The field of cognitive neuroscience has increasingly turned its attention to the detrimental effects of hypoxia on brain and cognitive functions. While significant progress has been made in understanding how oxygen deprivation impacts cellular and physiological processes, the effects on mental and brain functions remain less well understood. Hypoxia can lead to cognitive impairments, behavioral changes, and sensory deficits, with prolonged or severe cases increasing the risk of seizures, coma, or even permanent brain damage. Brain cells are particularly sensitive to oxygen deprivation, and extended periods of hypoxia can result in irreversible neuronal death. Despite long-standing reports of these deficits in humans, the mechanisms underlying the selective disintegration of certain mental functions while others remain relatively preserved are still not fully elucidated. This gap in knowledge necessitates a comprehensive research agenda to better understand the detrimental effects of hypoxia on human brain function and mental processes.

This Research Topic aims to address critical questions regarding the impact of hypoxia on brain regions and mental functions, the dependency of these effects on the duration and extent of oxygen deprivation, and the influence of individual factors such as age, health, gender, diet, and genetic predispositions. Specific questions include: Which brain regions and mental functions are most and least affected by hypoxia? How do the effects on mental functions vary with the duration and extent of oxygen deprivation? How do individual factors influence the effects of brain hypoxia? Additionally, the research will explore how decision-making factors change under normobaric or hypobaric hypoxia and how cognitive and attentional decline can be effectively measured under these conditions.

To gather further insights into the boundaries of hypoxia's effects on brain and cognitive functions, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Brain neural networks connectivity and functionality

- Speed of processing

- Information stored in episodic, semantic, or procedural memory and/or their coding and recollection

- EEG/ERP signals in cognitive, emotional, or perceptual contexts

- Moral brain instances related to cooperation and empathy

- Vigilance systems

- Event planning

- Ability to pay attention to details and inhibit response to distractors

- Ability to suppress aggression and engage in goal-directed behavior

- Psychomotor behavior planning, preparation, and execution

We are interested in empirical research, reviews, or meta-analyses covering the full spectrum of investigations in cognitive neuroscience, behavioral and molecular neuroscience, psychology, cognition, perception, sports psychology, and psychophysiology. This includes neuropsychology, neuroimaging studies (EEG/ERP, TMS, PET, fMRI, connectivity, and DTI), and clinical studies on psychiatric and neurological patients, athletes, mountain climbers, apnea divers, naval and aerospace military personnel, and astronauts. Studies on patients with severe respiratory syndromes and COVID-19-related deficiencies are also welcome.

Keywords: Hypoxia, Brain, Cognition, Behaviour, Human Mind

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.