空军军医大学学报2026，Vol.47Issue(5)：682-689,8.DOI:10.13276/j.issn.2097-1656.2026.05.008
慢性高原暴露脑适应性变化的纵向T1加权成像研究
Brain adaptive changes in response to chronic high-altitude exposure:a longitudinal T1-weighted imaging study
摘要
Abstract
Objective To investigate the effects of chronic high-altitude exposure on cognitive function and whole-brain gray matter structure,and to elucidate the association between them.Methods A prospective cohort study design was employed,enrolling 69 healthy adolescents who migrated from lowlands to high altitudes.Neurobehavioral assessments and high-resolution T1-weighted imaging data were collected at baseline(t1),2 years of high-altitude exposure(t2),and 4 years of high-altitude exposure(t3),respectively.Imaging data were processed using voxel-based morphometry(VBM).Repeated-measures analysis of variance and paired t-tests were utilized to longitudinally track the dynamic evolution of neurobehavioral indices and gray matter volume(GMV).Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to reveal the intrinsic link between structural alterations in key brain regions and cognitive impairment.Results(1)Immediate and delayed verbal memory,as well as visual memory,progressively declined with prolonged high-altitude exposure(P<0.05),while reaction times for visual and auditory simple discrimination tasks progressively increased(P<0.05),indicating that chronic high-altitude hypoxia significantly impairs working memory capacity and psychomotor speed.(2)VBM analysis revealed significant differences in the bilateral putamen and precuneus across time points;specifically,GMV in these regions was significantly lower at t3 compared to t1.(3)Compared to t1,changes in GMV of the right precuneus at t3 were significantly correlated with changes in delayed verbal memory and auditory/visual discrimination reaction times.Furthermore,changes in GMV of the left putamen were significantly correlated with changes in auditory discrimination reaction times.Conclusion Chronic high-altitude exposure induces persistent and progressive atrophy of GMV in the bilateral putamen and precuneus,accompanied by significant neurobehavioral functional decline.This suggests that the high-altitude hypoxic environment may mediate cognitive impairment by causing neuronal loss or synaptic remodeling in key cognitive network nodes such as the putamen and precuneus.The structural remodeling of these brain regions constitutes a critical neuroanatomical basis for cognitive disorders associated with chronic mountain sickness.关键词
高原/认知功能/灰质/壳核/楔前叶/纵向研究/磁共振成像/基于体素的形态学分析Key words
high altitude/cognitive function/gray matter/putamen/precuneus/longitudinal study/magnetic resonance imaging/voxel-based morphometry分类
医药卫生引用本文复制引用
何结兵,欧杨,杨婷婷,周杨,郭思嘉,骆文静,陈筱鸣..慢性高原暴露脑适应性变化的纵向T1加权成像研究[J].空军军医大学学报,2026,47(5):682-689,8.基金项目
国家自然科学基金(82271920) （82271920）
