ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2026
Chronic high-altitude exposure is associated with an internally-directed perceptual shift: differential links with attention networks and autonomic regulation.
Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: High-altitude environments impose unique physiological and cognitive demands that may reorganize brain-body communication. Our study investigates whether chronic high-altitude exposure is associated with a shift in perceptual priority toward internally-directed processing, rather than merely modifying external processing speed or accuracy. Methods: We recruited 112 Han immigrants residing at high altitude to complete assessments of visual imagery vividness under eyes-open (externally-oriented) and eyes-closed (internally-oriented) conditions, along with attention network tests. We also collected a comprehensive panel of multimodal physiological indices, including markers of inflammation, erythrocytic parameters, liver function, cardiovascular metrics, and heart rate variability (as a proxy for autonomic regulation). Analyses employed latent profile analysis and regression mixture modeling. Results: We found that prolonged high-altitude exposure showed a trend toward selectively enhancing internally-oriented imagery vividness under eyes-closed conditions, while externally-oriented processing remained stable. Critically, enhanced internally-oriented imagery was differentially associated with improved orienting attention, whereas externally-oriented imagery was linked to alerting attention, suggesting a functional differentiation in attentional reorganization. Physiologically, interleukin-6 levels were associated with externally-oriented vividness, whereas erythrocytic heterogeneity, liver function, and high-frequency heart rate variability (an index of parasympathetic-associated cardiac regulation) selectively correlated with internally-oriented processing. Conclusion: These results suggest that chronic high-altitude exposure may be associated with a reweighting of perceptual resource allocation toward an internally-oriented processing bias, with parasympathetic-associated autonomic regulation as a potential brain-body integrative mechanism. This work extends prior findings by proposing a shift in perceptual priority rather than merely processing efficiency, advancing a multi-system framework for understanding human brain-body adaptation in extreme environments.
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