A public lecture by Philip Ainslie, Canada Research Chair in Cerebrovascular Physiology and Co-Director, Centre for Heart, Lung & Vascular Health, The University of British Columbia and UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellow.
Relative to its size, the brain is the most oxygen-dependent organ in the body, but many pathophysiological and environmental processes may either cause or result in an interruption to its oxygen supply. Arguably the most unique data in humans comes from free-divers and mountaineers, extreme athletes in whom the lowest oxygen tensions and greatest extremes of carbon dioxide have been recorded (from respiratory alkalosis in the mountaineer to acidosis in the free-diver). In this talk, with a focus on integration and punitive mechanism(s) of action, data will be highlighted to examine to what extent the brain likely contributes toward these athletes extraordinary abilities to survive in such harsh environments characterized by physiological extremes of hypoxemia, alkalosis, and acidosis helping define the human brains remarkable limits of tolerance. The consequences of extreme free diving and mountaineering from a physiological and clinical perspective will also be outlined.
Relative to its size, the brain is the most oxygen-dependent organ in the body, but many pathophysiological and environmental processes may either cause or result in an interruption to its oxygen supply. Arguably the most unique data in humans comes from free-divers and mountaineers, extreme athletes in whom the lowest oxygen tensions and greatest extremes of carbon dioxide have been recorded (from respiratory alkalosis in the mountaineer to acidosis in the free-diver). In this talk, with a focus on integration and punitive mechanism(s) of action, data will be highlighted to examine to what extent the brain likely contributes toward these athletes extraordinary abilities to survive in such harsh environments characterized by physiological extremes of hypoxemia, alkalosis, and acidosis helping define the human brains remarkable limits of tolerance. The consequences of extreme free diving and mountaineering from a physiological and clinical perspective will also be outlined.