Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26779029›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in physiology2015

The Impact of Different Environmental Conditions on Cognitive Function: A Focused Review.

Lee Taylor, Samuel L Watkins, Hannah Marshall, Ben J Dascombe, Josh Foster

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in physiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04138446 (Effects of Acute Hypobaric Hypoxia Exposure on Neurocognitive Performance of Pre-hospital Emergency Service Providers), which is not on this map. Cited by 150 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
150citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
22.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04138446 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2019, after this paper: background citation

Effects of Acute Hypobaric Hypoxia Exposure on Neurocognitive Performance of Pre-hospital Emergency Service Providers

TypeinterventionalSponsorInstitute of Mountain Emergency MedicineRan2019 to 2019Enrolled48ConditionsHypobaric Hypoxia, Cognitive Deterioration, Emergency Medicine, ResuscitationArmsAltitude exposure in climate chamber
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

150 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 354 citations in OpenAlex.

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  20. Acute lack of sunlight exposure is associated with poorer cognitive test performance: evidence from two national cohorts in the United Kingdom.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2026
    Article

90 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Lee TaylorASPETAR, Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Athlete Health and Performance Research CentreDoha, Qatar; Applied Sport and Exercise Physiology Research Group, Department of Sport Science and Physical Activity, Institute for Sport and Physical Activity Research, University of BedfordshireBedford, UK.
Samuel L WatkinsApplied Sport and Exercise Physiology Research Group, Department of Sport Science and Physical Activity, Institute for Sport and Physical Activity Research, University of Bedfordshire Bedford, UK.
Hannah MarshallApplied Sport and Exercise Physiology Research Group, Department of Sport Science and Physical Activity, Institute for Sport and Physical Activity Research, University of Bedfordshire Bedford, UK.
Ben J DascombeApplied Sport Science and Exercise Testing Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, University of Newcastle Ourimbah, NSW, Australia.
Josh FosterApplied Sport and Exercise Physiology Research Group, Department of Sport Science and Physical Activity, Institute for Sport and Physical Activity Research, University of Bedfordshire Bedford, UK.
University of Bedfordshire · GBQatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital · QA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cognitive function defines performance in objective tasks that require conscious mental effort. Extreme environments, namely heat, hypoxia, and cold can all alter human cognitive function due to a variety of psychological and/or biological processes. The aims of this Focused Review were to discuss; (1) the current state of knowledge on the effects of heat, hypoxic and cold stress on cognitive function, (2) the potential mechanisms underpinning these alterations, and (3) plausible interventions that may maintain cognitive function upon exposure to each of these environmental stressors. The available evidence suggests that the effects of heat, hypoxia, and cold stress on cognitive function are both task and severity dependent. Complex tasks are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat stress, whereas both simple and complex task performance appear to be vulnerable at even at moderate altitudes. Cold stress also appears to negatively impact both simple and complex task performance, however, the research in this area is sparse in comparison to heat and hypoxia. In summary, this focused review provides updated knowledge regarding the effects of extreme environmental stressors on cognitive function and their biological underpinnings. Tyrosine supplementation may help individuals maintain cognitive function in very hot, hypoxic, and/or cold conditions. However, more research is needed to clarify these and other postulated interventions.

Indexed as

altitudecognitioncognitive functioncoldenvironmentheathypoxia

Identifiers

PMID26779029
PMCPMC4701920
OpenAlexW2189364697

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.