Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T12:26:17.308Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Acute changes in carbon dioxide levels alter the electroencephalogram without affecting cognitive function

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2000

ELISABETH BLOCH-SALISBURY ,
ROBERT LANSING  and
STEVEN A. SHEA
ELISABETH BLOCH-SALISBURY
Affiliation:
Physiology Program, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
ROBERT LANSING
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
STEVEN A. SHEA
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Get access

Abstract

The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood (PaCO2) is usually tightly regulated, yet it varies among healthy people at rest (range ∼32–44 mmHg) as well as within an individual during many natural life situations. The present study examined whether modest changes in end-tidal PCO2 (PetCO2; a noninvasive measure of PaCO2) affect electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, cognitive function, and vigilance. Nine adults were ventilated mechanically using a mouthpiece; respiratory rate and breath size were held constant while PetCO2 was set to levels that produced minimal discomfort. Despite discrete changes in EEG, neither acute PetCO2 increases (mean = 47 mmHg) nor decreases (mean = 30 mmHg) from resting levels (mean = 38 mmHg) affected performance on cognitive tasks, latency or amplitude of the N1, P2, or P3 event-related potential, or alertness. Modest changes in PetCO2 may cause significant alterations in the EEG without disturbing cognitive function.

Keywords

HypercapniaHypocapniaERPsAAT
Type
Research Article
Information
Psychophysiology , Volume 37 , Issue 4 , July 2000 , pp. 418 - 426
Copyright
2000 Society for Psychophysiological Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)