Annals of work exposures and health, cilt.65, ss.505-515, 2021 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: The narcotic effect of hyperbaric nitrogen is most pronounced in air-breathing divers
because it impairs diver’s cognitive and behavioral performance, and limits the depth of dive profiles. We aimed to investigate the cognitive effects of simulated (500 kPa) air environments in recreational SCUBA divers, revealed by auditory event-related potentials (AERPs).
Methods: A total of 18 healthy volunteer recreational air SCUBA divers participated in the study.
AERPs were recorded in pre-dive, deep-dive, and post-dive sessions.
Results: False-positive score variables were found with significantly higher differences and longer
reaction times of hits during deep-dive and post-dive than pre-dive sessions. Also, P3 amplitudes
were significantly reduced and peak latencies were prolonged during both deep-dive and post-dive
compared with pre-dive sessions.
Conclusion: We observed that nitrogen narcosis at 500 kPa pressure in the dry hyperbaric chamber
has a mild-to-moderate negative effect on the cognitive performance of recreational air SCUBA
divers, which threatened the safety of diving. Although relatively decreased, this effect also continued in the post-dive sessions. These negative effects are especially important for divers engaged in open-sea diving. Our results show crucial implications for the kinds of control measures
that can help to prevent nitrogen narcosis and diving accidents at depths up to 40 msw.