ArticleBrain and behavior2016
Long-term acclimatization to high-altitude hypoxia modifies interhemispheric functional and structural connectivity in the adult brain.
Article in Brain and behavior, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of long-term exposure to high altitude on brain structure in healthy people: an MRI-based systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Sex differences in brain homotopic co-activations: a meta-analytic study.Brain structure & function · 2022Pooled it
- Dynamic functional connectivity variability may explain hypoxia-induced cognitive impairment at high-altitude.iScience · 2026Article
- Neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants born at high altitude: evidence from Tibet.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Single-cell long- and short-read transcriptomics sheds light on high-altitude adaptation in the porcine cerebral cortex.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Cell-specific gene expression plasticity in response to hypoxia promotes high-altitude adaptive evolution.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Article
- Reversible brain functional alterations induced by Short-Term high altitude exposure.Brain imaging and behavior · 2026Article
- Relationship between spontaneous EEG oscillations at 7 and 45 days of acute plateau exposure and the plateau acclimatization index.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Article
- Chronic hypoxia reshapes the brain: subregional volume reductions of the hippocampus and amygdala contrasts with behavioral resilience in long-term high-altitude migrants.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Longitudinal assessment of retinal and visual pathway electrophysiology and structure after high altitude exposure.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2025Article
- Dynamic brain functional states associated with inhibition control under different altitudes.Cognitive neurodynamics · 2024Article
- A diffusion tensor imaging-based multidimensional study of brain structural changes after long-term high-altitude exposure and their relationships with cognitive function.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- The Brain at High Altitude: From Molecular Signaling to Cognitive Performance.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Consistent differences in brain structure and functional connectivity in high-altitude native Tibetans and immigrants.Brain imaging and behavior · 2023Article
- Mechanism, prevention and treatment of cognitive impairment caused by high altitude exposure.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Review
- Article
- Effects of Long-Term Exposure to High Altitude Hypoxia on Cognitive Function and Its Mechanism: A Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2022Review
- Resting-State Neuronal Activity and Functional Connectivity Changes in the Visual Cortex after High Altitude Exposure: A Longitudinal Study.Brain sciences · 2022Article
- Structure and activity alteration in adult highland residents' cerebrum: Voxel-based morphometry and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation study.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
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7 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundStructural and functional networks can be reorganized to adjust to environmental pressures and physiologic changes in the adult brain, but such processes remain unclear in prolonged adaptation to high-altitude (HA) hypoxia. This study aimed to characterize the interhemispheric functionally and structurally coupled modifications in the brains of adult HA immigrants.
methodsWe performed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 16 adults who had immigrated to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (2300-4400 m) for 2 years and in 16 age-matched sea-level (SL) controls. A recently validated approach of voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) was employed to examine the interhemispheric resting-state functional connectivity. Areas showing changed VMHC in HA immigrants were selected as regions of interest for follow-up DTI tractography analysis. The fiber parameters of fractional anisotropy and fiber length were obtained. Cognitive and physiological assessments were made and correlated with the resulting image metrics.
resultsCompared with SL controls, VMHC in the bilateral visual cortex was significantly increased in HA immigrants. The mean VMHC value extracted within the visual cortex was positively correlated with hemoglobin concentration. Moreover, the path length of the commissural fibers connecting homotopic visual areas was increased in HA immigrants, covarying positively with VMHC.
conclusionsThese observations are the first to demonstrate interhemispheric functional and structural connectivity resilience in the adult brain after prolonged HA acclimatization independent of inherited and developmental effects, and the coupled modifications in the bilateral visual cortex indicate important neural compensatory mechanisms underlying visual dysfunction in physiologically well-acclimatized HA immigrants. The study of human central adaptation to extreme environments promotes the understanding of our brain's capacity for survival.
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