Effects of extended hypoxia on visual performance and retinal vascular state

poxia on visual performance and retinal vascular state. J. Appl. Physiol. 31(3): 357-362. 197.1.-Eight subjects were exposed to 15,000-ft equivalent hypobaric elevation for 48 hr in an altitude chamber during which they were periodically measured for near and far visual acuity, stereopsis, binocular depth perception, critical flicker fusion, dark adaptation, and response time to peripheral visual signals. The central retinal fundi were also examined clinically and photographed. Performance on all visual tasks showed similar decrements which occurred rapidly and reached their maximum extent within approximately 1 hr of exposure and thereafter gradually recovered over the remaining interval. The impairments noted are apparently due to the effects of hypoxia acting directly on the visual system rather than to the possible influence of subjective feeling states, since they preceded by several hours the onset of subsequent illness symptoms. The retinal vas