Effect Of Physical Activity On Executive Function Of Pilots Under Acute Moderate Hypoxia

With the rapid development of the aviation industry and the construction of complex air routes on the plateau,acute hypoxia poses a serious threat to flight safety.Compared to high altitude hypoxia,mild to moderate hypoxia has a higher incidence,and the cognitive impact characteristics are not yet clear.As the main body of flight safety,cognitive research on pilots under different mild to moderate hypoxia conditions is of great significance.Executive function is considered to be the core of cognitive function,which plays an important role in controlling and regulating cognitive process,and is also the focus of sports psychology.Starting with three sub-functions of executive function shifting,inhibition and updating,combined with reaction time and accuracy,this study aims to explore the effect of physical activity on the executive function of pilots under hypoxia,in order to provide basis for pilots to develop targeted exercise programs in the future.In this study,65 flight cadets are taken as the candidates,the IPAQ is used as the physical activity measuring instrument,nitrogen and oxygen mixed gas is used to simulate the low oxygen environment of 0m,3500mand 4500m,and E-Prime2.0 is used as the development platform.The shifting,inhibition and updating functions were measured by the More-odd shifting,Stroop and 2-back paradigms.During the experiment,SpO2 and HR were continuously monitored,reaction time and accuracy were taken as evaluation indexes.Perform 3(physical activity level:medium-1/medium-2/high)× 3(height:0m/3500m/4500m)repeated measurement analysis of variance.The results showed that at 0m,3500m and 4500m,SpO2 and HR of cadets with different physical activity decreased sig nificantly with the increase of altitude,and the main effects were significant(P<0.01).The altitude of 3500m has no significant impact of executive functions.The altitude of 4500m significantly reduces the accuracy of updating(P=0.012),the main effects were significant(F=3.344,P=0.043).The inhibition of pilots with high physical activity level was significantly increased compared with that with medium physical activity level(P=0.022),and the main effects were significant(F=3.166,P=0.049).Conclusions are as follows:(1)3500m altitude will not significantly impact on pilots’executive function,while 4500m will significantly reduce the accuracy of updating function and affect the decision quality of pilots.(2)The effects of physical activity on dimensions of executive function are different.High physical activity level can significantly improve pilots’inhibition function,advance their concentration and judgment accuracy.(3)The high level of physical activity can make pilots maintain better inhibition function in hypoxic conditions,advocating physical fitness exercise is conducive to maintain flight safety.(4)For pilots,different amounts of physical activity seem to have different effects of executive function.The influence of hypoxia on ACC index seems to be more obvious than that of RT index,and the relevant theoretical mechanism needs to be further studied.