Hypoxia and memory: neuropathological and memory impacts of the different types of hypoxia

Carine Malle; Cyprien Bourrilhon; Mickaël Laisney; Peggy Quinette; Béatrice Desgranges; Francis Eustache; Christophe Piérard

doi:10.1684/nrp.2012.0200



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Hypoxia and memory: neuropathological and memory impacts of the different types of hypoxia
Revue de neuropsychologie. Volume 4, Number 1, 60-8, Mars 2012, Article de synthèse
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Author(s) : Carine Malle, Cyprien Bourrilhon, Mickaël Laisney, Peggy Quinette, Béatrice Desgranges, Francis Eustache, Christophe Piérard
Summary : To what extent can a deficit in oxygen, i.e. hypoxia, affect cerebral functioning, and particularly memory? This is the question we attempted to answer in this article. We discussed the two main types of hypoxia, high-altitude-induced hypoxia on the one hand and disease-induced hypoxia on the other hand. A review of literature of the last 30 years allowed us to highlight the main memory systems impaired by these different types of hypoxia, namely working memory and episodic memory. We also distinguished two patterns of memory impairments. Indeed, memory disorders due to high-altitude chronic exposure and to chronic diseases seem to include mostly deficits in attention and learning and/or retrieval strategies, while it is episodic memory that is directly impaired in acute hypoxia, both in cases of abrupt high-altitude exposure and after carbon monoxide poisoning. Whereas oxygen-based treatments definitely improve the outcome of memory disorders in patients submitted to chronic hypoxia, their effectiveness seems limited after acute hypoxia, probably because of the development of irreversible cerebral lesions.
Keywords : hypoxia, attention, working memory, episodic memory, hippocampus