Cognitive and psychosocial sequelae following hypoxic brain injury.

Cognitive and psychosocial sequelae following hypoxic brain injury Abstract in English Hypoxic brain injury leads to neuronal necrosis and to other cerebral changes which may affect psychosocial functioning. Although the pathophysiology of cerebral hypoxia is multifactorial, and it is not possible to reliably describe the unified clinical picture of hypoxia patients, the most commonly described psychosocial consequences of cerebral hypoxia are cognitive impairment, increased anxiety and depressive symptoms. The aim of the present study is to characterize cognitive functioning and psychosocial changes of the patients exposing mild intermittent cerebral hypoxia (=chronic form of hypoxia, model of obstructive sleep apnea diagnosed by neurologist) and patients after severe one-time cerebral hypoxia (=acute form of hypoxia, model of cardiac arrest diagnosed by cardiologist). Regardless of the different etiology of particular hypoxia forms described in the theoretical part of the thesis, both forms may lead to neuronal death. In the experimental part we test a hypothesis comparing healthy individuals to patients with acute or chronic form of hypoxia in cognitive performance or anxiety and depressive symptoms. We document a decreased cognitive performance and higher level of state anxiety in a group of patients..