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  • Title: A comparison of visual and auditory reaction time and P300 latency thresholds to acute hypoxia.
    Author: Fowler B, Prlic H.
    Journal: Aviat Space Environ Med; 1995 Jul; 66(7):645-50. PubMed ID: 7575313.
    Abstract:
    To investigate the influence of stimulus modality on the slowing produced by hypoxia, thresholds were estimated using reaction time (RT) and the event-related brain potential P300. Six trained subjects responded to oddball light flashes or tone pips while breathing low-oxygen mixtures that were manipulated to produce arterial blood oxygen saturations (SaO2) ranging from 77-86%. Both RT and P300 were slowed in a dose-dependent manner. The threshold for slowing was independent of stimulus modality for both measures, and estimated to be in the range 81-82% SaO2. P300 amplitude dissociated from the response time measures by exhibiting an inverted-U dose-response function. We draw three conclusions from these results: a) the failure to observe a higher visual threshold for the response time measures is inconsistent with the traditional belief that audition is relatively insensitive to hypoxia; b) the equal sensitivity of P300 latency and RT to hypoxia implicates stimulus evaluation processes in slowing; and c) P300 amplitude may reflect the activity of physiological compensatory mechanisms to hypoxia.
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