Friday, December 13, 2019

Brain Volume, Cognition Worse After Antarctic Expedition | MedPage Today

A photo of Prof. Dr. Antje Boetius, Director of Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine ResearchBrain Volume, Cognition Worse After Antarctic Expedition | MedPage Today:

  • Isolation, harsh environment linked to hippocampal changes in healthy young adults

"Fourteen months on an Antarctic research expedition -- with almost complete darkness during winter, temperatures as low as -58 °F, and extremely limited social interactions -- led to brain changes in healthy young adults, a small prospective study showed.
Before-and-after MRI scans showed that expeditioners at the polar research station Neumayer-Station III experienced reductions in hippocampal volume of the dentate gyrus, lower brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels, and lower performance in spatial processing and selective attention tests..."
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