Abstract
We investigated long-term effects of SCUBA diving on cognitive function using a battery of neuropsychometric tests: the Simple Reaction Time (REA), Symbol Digit Substitution (SDS), Digit Span Backwards (DSB), and Hand-Eye Coordination 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.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 928-934 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2014 |
Keywords
- Adverse effects
- Boxing
- CNS
- Central Nervous System
- Injury
- Memory
- Neuropsychology
- Physiology