A recent study by a team from Paris-Saclay University revealed that free diving may be linked to changes in the way brain regions responsible for memory, attention, and movement communicate.
Free divers, who dive without breathing apparatus, face frequent bouts of oxygen deprivation while holding their breath, but their brains appear to be able to adapt to these conditions by reorganizing the functioning of certain neural networks.
The study included 17 experienced free divers who underwent brain scans before and after a seven-month training period, along with a control group of 20 men of roughly the same age who had never freedived before and who performed aerobic exercises for about five hours a week. During the scans, participants completed four rounds of breath-holding for up to two minutes, interspersed with 90-second periods of normal breathing, and also underwent memory tests.
The results showed that after seven months of training, changes occurred in the way different areas of the divers' brains communicated, particularly those associated with attention, cognitive control, sensory information processing, and movement
Researchers observed an increase in the strength of connections between the two sides of the hippocampus, a key region associated with memory, and the cerebellum, which plays a major role in motor control and, according to recent research, is involved in several cognitive functions. Conversely, some connections between the hippocampus and areas responsible for processing sensory information and movement were weakened, particularly during periods of normal breathing.
Researchers believe that these changes may reflect a way in which the brain rearranges its priorities while dealing with oxygen deprivation, as part of its activity may shift towards internal processes related to memory and maintaining brain efficiency, rather than focusing more on information coming from the outside world.
The research paper published on the preprint server bioRxiv stated that freediving training "is associated with selective reorganization of hippocampal and large-scale brain networks."
The researchers added that these changes may be related to the level of episodic memory performance, and may reflect adaptive processes related to what is known as "neuroplasticity," that is, the brain's ability to change the way it works and organize its connections in response to different experiences and conditions.
The researchers noted that free diving provides a "valuable human model" for studying how the brain adapts to oxygen deprivation, and may help in understanding the mechanisms that support cognitive flexibility.
The team stressed that the results do not mean that holding one's breath can be a treatment for Alzheimer's or other neurological diseases, but they may open the door to future research exploring the possibility of utilizing the brain's adaptation mechanisms in oxygen-deficient conditions.
The researchers said: "Overall, the neuroplasticity resulting from freediving appears to reflect a unique convergence of sport and adaptation to oxygen deprivation," adding that this convergence has led to a functional reorganization that prioritizes internal organization, memory preservation, and neural network efficiency.
The researchers concluded that voluntary and repeated exposure to hypoxia, when done under controlled conditions, may provide a model for studying neuroplasticity and may in the future help in developing interventions that target weaknesses associated with the hippocampus, including those that appear with aging, neurodegeneration, and some hypoxia-related diseases.
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