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Long term effects of recreational SCUBA diving on higher cognitive function
Author(s) -
Hemelryck W.,
Germonpré P.,
Papadopoulou V.,
Rozloznik M.,
Balestra C.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.12100
Subject(s) - scuba diving , decompression sickness , decompression illness , medicine , cognition , decompression , physical therapy , audiology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , surgery , psychiatry , biology , zoology
We investigated long‐term effects of SCUBA diving on cognitive function using a battery of neuropsychometric tests: the S imple R eaction T ime ( REA ), S ymbol D igit S ubstitution ( SDS ), D igit S pan B ackwards ( DSB ), and H and‐ E ye C oordination tests ( EYE ). A group ( n = 44) of experienced SCUBA divers with no history of decompression sickness was compared to non‐diving control subjects ( n = 37), as well as to professional boxers ( n = 24), who are considered at higher risk of long term neurological damage. The REA was significantly shorter in SCUBA divers compared to the control subjects, and also more stable over the time course of the test. In contrast, the number of digits correctly memorized and reordered ( DSB ) was significantly lower for SCUBA divers compared to the control group. The results also showed that boxers performed significantly worse than the control group in three out of four tests ( REA , DSB , EYE ). While it may be concluded that accident‐free SCUBA diving may have some long‐term adverse effects on short‐term memory, there is however, no evidence of general higher cognitive function deficiency.