Compromised White Matter Microstructural Integrity after Mountain Climbing: Evidence from Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Abstract Zhang, Haiyan, Jianzhong Lin, Yingchun Sun, Yongxia Huang, Huiming Ye, Xiaochuan Wang, Tianhe Yang, Xingtang Jiang, Jiaxing Zhang. Compromised white matter microstructural integrity after mountain climbing: Evidence from diffusion tensor imaging. High Alt. Med. Biol. 13:118–125.—The aim of the present study was to investigate cerebral microstructural alterations after single short-term mountain climbing. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes and Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) analysis of WM fractional anisotropy (FA) based on MRI images were carried out on 14 mountaineers before and after mountain climbing (6206 m). In addition, verbal and spatial ‘two-back’ tasks and serial reaction time task were also tested. No significant changes were detected in total and regional volumes of GM, WM, and cerebral spinal fluid after mountain climbing. Significant decreased FA values were found in the bilateral corticospinal tract, corpus callosum (anter...