Predictors and models of hypoxia and altitude tolerance in humans

人类为了工作和娱乐而越来越频繁地前往高海拔地区，并且经常遭受诸如疲劳、头痛和表现不佳的困难，这主要是由于这些地点的低氧气水平。这些反应的机制还不清楚。尽管有几十年的研究，很难预测哪些人会高度适应海拔高度，哪些人不会。许多明显的潜在预测因素，如年龄，健康状况，甚至血液中的氧气水平都被证明是不可靠的。其中一个关键原因是，海拔以外的其他因素也会对人体造成压力，并引起类似的反应。这些因素包括劳累，脱水，甚至宿醉或偏头痛。这项研究的目的是寻找新的方法来预测哪些人在高海拔地区表现良好。我们的具体目标是研究神经学预测因子（如平衡和认知）和遗传预测因子（指示个体是否在高海拔地区表现良好的基因）。我们的初步工作表明，一个基本的平衡测试似乎能够辨别谁在高海拔地区发生急性高山病。我们还发现了两个潜在的基因，可以帮助我们预测谁在高海拔地区表现不佳。我们希望在此之前的研究基础上，在实验室和现场进行一系列研究。此外，我们还发现，那些在高海拔地区执行更具认知挑战性的任务的人可能比那些不这样做的人表现更差。我们希望科学地测试认知挑战性活动是否会使个体在高海拔地区表现更差。我们将联合收割机实验室研究（在我们的高海拔室中进行）和实地研究，在尼泊尔喜马拉雅山脉的研究地点进行，以验证我们现有的预测因子，并寻找和测试新的预测因子。我们已经开发了一种新型的智能手机应用程序，可以用来收集大部分数据，还可以测量平衡、协调和大气压力等重要变量。找到这些新的高原反应预测因子不仅可以提高我们预测谁将在高原表现或遭受痛苦的能力，还可以增强我们对人类如何应对高海拔背后机制的理解。

Humans travel to altitude with increasing frequency for work and for recreation, and are frequently subject to difficulties such as fatigue, headache and poor performance, primarily as a result of the low levels of oxygen at these locations. The mechanism of these responses is not well understood. Despite decades of research, it is hard to predict those individuals who will be highly acclimatize well to altitude, and those who are not. Many obvious potential predictors such as age, fitness, and even the level of oxygen in the blood have proven to be unreliable. A key reason for this is that factors other than altitude can stress the human body, and cause similar responses. These factors include exertion, dehydration, and even hangover or migraine. The purpose of the proposed research is to look for new ways to predict which individuals will perform well at altitude. We specifically aim to look at neurological predictors (such as balance and cognition), and genetic predictors (genes that indicate whether an individual will perform well at altitude). Our preliminary work has shown that a basic balance test seems to be able to discern who develops acute mountain sickness at altitude. We have also found two potential genes that might help us predict who performs poorly at altitude. We would like to build on this previous research with a series of studies in the laboratory and in the field. Furthermore, we have found anecdotally that those who perform more cognitively challenging tasks while at altitude may perform worse than those who do not. We would like to scientifically test whether cognitively challenging activity makes individuals perform worse at altitude.We will combine both laboratory research (performed in our altitude chamber) and field research, conducted at our research sites in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal, to validate our existing predictors, and to search for and test new predictors of altitude response. We have developed a novel smartphone application that can be used to collect much of this data, and will be able to also measure important variables such as balance, coordination and atmospheric pressure.Finding these new predictors of altitude response will not only improve our ability to predict who will perform or suffer at altitude, it will also enhance our understanding of the mechanisms behind how humans respond to high altitude.