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The levels of processing effect under nitrogen narcosis.

Wendy Kneller1, Malcolm Hobbs

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Winchester, Winchester, United Kingdom. wendy.kneller@winchester.ac.uk

Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine : Journal of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Inc
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Nitrogen narcosis impairs memory encoding during deep dives, but deeper processing of information can mitigate these effects. This research clarifies how narcosis impacts divers' memory.

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Area of Science:

  • Human Physiology
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Marine Biology

Background:

  • Inert gas narcosis, commonly nitrogen narcosis, affects diver memory.
  • Previous studies indicate narcosis impacts free recall more than recognition memory.
  • A potential cause is narcosis interfering with memory encoding.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that narcosis affects memory encoding.
  • To investigate the influence of processing depth on free recall under narcosis.
  • To differentiate between encoding and retrieval deficits caused by narcosis.

Main Methods:

  • Experiment 1: 67 divers experienced free recall tasks at two depths (0-2 msw and 37-39 msw) with shallow and deep processing levels.
  • Experiment 2: Controlled for environmental differences between depth conditions.
  • Statistical analysis included age as a covariate.

Main Results:

  • Divers under narcosis (deeper water) exhibited significantly worse recall than those in shallow water.
  • Deeper levels of processing consistently improved recall in both shallow and deep water conditions.
  • Experiment 2 confirmed the findings were not due to environmental factors.

Conclusions:

  • Memory performance under narcosis is influenced by the depth of information processing.
  • Findings support the theory that narcosis primarily impairs the encoding stage of memory.
  • Narcosis appears to affect memory encoding rather than retrieval processes.