Schedule of Events | Symposia

Examining the Physiological and Cognitive Effects of Intermittent Hypoxia Training (IH) in Healthy Adults.

Poster Session A - Saturday, March 29, 2025, 3:00 – 5:00 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom
Also presenting in Data Blitz Session 2 - Saturday, March 29, 2025, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm EDT, Independence Ballroom.

Denait Haile¹, Nasimi A. Guluzade¹, Antonio Mendes¹, Daniel A. Keir¹, Matthew Heath¹; ¹Western University

Executive function (EF) is improved following a single bout of exercise, a benefit linked to an exercise-mediated increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF). A bi-directional relationship exists between EF and CBF, such that transient decreases in CBF negatively impact EF. Some evidence has reported that chronic exposure to a hypoxic environment (i.e., lower than atmospheric concentration of O2) improves EF via enhanced cerebrovascular O2 extraction. This study aimed to determine whether a single session of intermittent hypoxia (IH) benefits EF. Healthy young adults (N=24) participated in two 60-minute sessions: an IH condition involving alternating 5-minute intervals of hypoxic (FiO2 = 10%) and normoxic breathing (FiO2 = 20%), and a normoxic control condition of the equivalent duration. CO2 levels were maintained at baseline for both conditions, and concurrent fNIRS and TCD were used to measure condition-based cortical hemodynamic changes. Additionally, EF was assessed via the antisaccade task (i.e., saccade mirror-symmetrical to exogenous target) at baseline (T0), immediately post-protocol (T1), and 30-min post-protocol (T2). As expected, arterial and cerebral O2 saturation decreased during hypoxia intervals (ps<.001). In the IH condition, antisaccade reaction times (RTs) improved by 7% from T0 to T2 (p = .004), with no significant changes from T0 to T1 (p = .22), nor in the control condition (ps > .32). Accordingly, results provide a first demonstration that a single bout of IH provides a transient EF “boost”, potentially via enhanced cortical oxygen extraction and EF network efficiency. Supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Monitoring & inhibitory control