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Has anyone experimented with supplemental oxygen for cognitive benefit?

by kev009 6y ago

frank2 6y ago
Increasing O2 has physiological effects different from the effects of decreasing CO2. It is not just the ratio or difference between the concentrations that matter. For example, a major effect of increasing CO2 is to make the blood more acidic (or to put more stress on the homeostatic mechanisms that maintain a target pH), and my guess is that no amount of increasing O2 will cancel that out.
- matheusmoreira 6y ago
  > a major effect of increasing CO2 is to make the blood more acidic (or to put more stress on the homeostatic mechanisms that maintain a target pH), and my guess is that no amount of increasing O2 will cancel that out True. More details on this mechanism: The body uses buffer systems in order to minimize blood pH changes. For example, the bicarbonate buffer system which is catalazyed by carbonic anhydrase. CO₂ + H₂O ⇌ H₂CO₃ ⇌ HCO₃- + H+ It is converted back to carbon dioxide in the lungs and exhaled. The rate at which this process occurs is mainly influenced by respiratory rate. Oxygen doesn't directly influence it. O₂ enables aerobic cellular respiration, the process which produces carbon dioxide. The hydrogen ions are buffered by proteins such as hemoglobin. They are also excreted by the kidneys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_solution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_solution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicarbonate_buffer_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicarbonate_buffer_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid%E2%80%93base_homeostasis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid%E2%80%93base_homeostasis https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/26-4-acid-base-balance/ https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/26-4-acid...
matheusmoreira 6y ago
I don't think anyone's studied it for every day cognitive benefit but oxygen supplementation is common in medicine. Note that increasing oxygen concentration is not the same as decreasing carbon dioxide concentration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercapnia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercapnia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arterial_blood_gas_test https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arterial_blood_gas_test Obese people can also experience cognitive symptoms due to hypoventilation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_hypoventilation_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_hypoventilation_syndro... I suppose this could be considered analogous to breathing in air with high carbon dioxide concentrations.

Has anyone experimented with supplemental oxygen for cognitive benefit?

by kev009 6y ago

Has anyone experimented with supplemental oxygen for cognitive benefit?

Increasing O2 has physiological effects different from the effects of decreasing CO2. It is not just the ratio or difference between the concentrations that matter. For example, a major effect of increasing CO2 is to make the blood more acidic (or to put more stress on the homeostatic mechanisms that maintain a target pH), and my guess is that no amount of increasing O2 will cancel that out.

matheusmoreira 6y ago
> a major effect of increasing CO2 is to make the blood more acidic (or to put more stress on the homeostatic mechanisms that maintain a target pH), and my guess is that no amount of increasing O2 will cancel that out True. More details on this mechanism: The body uses buffer systems in order to minimize blood pH changes. For example, the bicarbonate buffer system which is catalazyed by carbonic anhydrase. CO₂ + H₂O ⇌ H₂CO₃ ⇌ HCO₃- + H+ It is converted back to carbon dioxide in the lungs and exhaled. The rate at which this process occurs is mainly influenced by respiratory rate. Oxygen doesn't directly influence it. O₂ enables aerobic cellular respiration, the process which produces carbon dioxide. The hydrogen ions are buffered by proteins such as hemoglobin. They are also excreted by the kidneys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_solution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_solution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicarbonate_buffer_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicarbonate_buffer_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid%E2%80%93base_homeostasis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid%E2%80%93base_homeostasis https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/26-4-acid-base-balance/ https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/26-4-acid...

matheusmoreira 6y ago

I don't think anyone's studied it for every day cognitive benefit but oxygen supplementation is common in medicine. Note that increasing oxygen concentration is not the same as decreasing carbon dioxide concentration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercapnia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercapnia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arterial_blood_gas_test https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arterial_blood_gas_test Obese people can also experience cognitive symptoms due to hypoventilation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_hypoventilation_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_hypoventilation_syndro... I suppose this could be considered analogous to breathing in air with high carbon dioxide concentrations.