Effects of chronic decompression anoxia on retention in guinea pigs: special considerations at 23,000 feet

• Published in: Journal of comparative & physiological psychology Vol. 41; no. 3; pp. 196 - 202
• Main Authors: Sola, Anders E, Becker, R. Frederick, Windle, W. F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychological Association 01-06-1948; Williams and Wilkins Co
• Subjects: Animal; Animals; Anoxia; Atmospheric Conditions; Decompression; Decompression, Surgical; Foot; Guinea Pigs; Hypoxia; Memory; Old Medline; Oxygen; Retention; OXYGEN/deficiency
• ISSN: 0021-9940
• DOI: 10.1037/h0056596

"To determine whether chronic exposure (6 hours a day; 6 days a week) to conditions of low atmospheric pressure (307 mm. Hg or 23,000 feet) would impair memory of a learned task, guinea pigs were exposed to 100, 250, 300 and 400 hours of accumulative, intermittent decompression. Their retest performance on a simple alternation type of maze was compared with that of unexposed control animals after each period of exposure." No significant differences in either error or trials to reach a criterion were noted between the anoxia groups and the controls. "This finding of little or no impairment of retentive capacity for a learned task in young male guinea pigs exposed to decompression of this severity falls in line with the work of others . . . who report no signs of histopathologic change in brains of guinea pigs exposed to similar conditions of altitude."