30% oxygen inhalation enhances cognitive performance through robust activation in the brain

Department of Psychology, Institute for Brain Research, Chungnam National University, Daejon, South Korea. jhsohn@cnu.ac.kr

This study aimed to investigate whether inhalation of the air with 30% oxygen compared with normal air enhances cognitive functioning through increased activation in the brain. The verbal and visuospatial tasks were performed while brain images were scanned. The results showed that there were improvements in performance and also increased activation in several brain areas under the condition of 30% oxygen. These results suggest that a higher concentration of the inhaled oxygen increases the saturation of the blood oxygen in the brain, and facilitates cognitive performance.

J Physiol Anthropol Appl Human Sci. 2005 Jan;24(1):51-3.