Into thin air: Altitude's toll on the brain

Introduction

by David Dobbs

Editor, Mind Matters

"The mountains," wrote climbing enthusiast Sir Francis Younghusband, "reserve their choice gifts for those who stand upon their summits." Yet those who earn these gifts pay a unique price. As neuroscientist and weekend climber R. Douglas Fields relates below, a recent study used brain scans to examine both the effects that both one-time and cumulative high-altitude climbing have on the human brain. The findings are not elevating for those of us who love to climb.

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Brain Cells into Thin Air

by

R. Douglas Fields

National Institutes of Mental Health

Washington, D.C.

"Mount Everest is very easy to climb, only just a little too high." - The Observer, Jan 25, 1953.

Three attributes of a good mountaineer are high pain threshold, bad memory, and ... I forget the third. - R. Douglas Fields

Climbing Mount Everest is not so difficult; the hard part is getting down intact. According to a recent brain imaging study, almost no one does. Of thirteen climbers in the study who attempted Mount Everest, none returned without brain damage. The study also scanned the brains of climbers who attempted less extreme summits. For those Next............