Currently, doctors in emergency situations often provide pure oxygen for patients breathing. But Ronald Harper, the neurobiology Professor from David Gefin Medical College of American University of Californiar, believes through researches that if it reaches a certain usage, pure oxygen will continuously releases a "undesirable chemical substance". His study report has been published in the latest issue of the "Public Science Library Medicine Magzine".

Harper's research group have used functional magnetic resonance imaging technology to observe reactions in 14 healthy children's brains from 8 years old to 15 years old to these two kinds of gases :100% of oxygen (pure oxygen) and 95% of oxygen and 5% of carbon dioxide. When some areas of subjects' brains start to be active, the functional magnetic resonance imaging becomes "bright".

Results show that breathing pure oxygen for two minutes will cause the activity of regions below  children's brains: hippocampus (this brain area affecting blood pressure), the insula (affecting the degree of tension) and hypothalamus (adjusting arrhythmias).

Harper said when the testing children breathed in the oxygen with 5% of carbon dioxide, the activity of brain areas greatly reduced, among which the hypothalamus stays dormant. He pointed out that the hypothalamus plays a key role, because it brings the hormone and neurotransmitters into the bloodstream, thereby it affects the capacity of hearts to convey blood and oxygen.

Harper holds that pure oxygen induces the vasoconstriction of blood vessels while carbon dioxide cause the expansion of blood vessels, "Oxygen should keep concomitant with substances that can make blood vessels keep in the diastolic state."

Previous researches have proposed the doubt to use pure oxygen, especially for premature babies breathing.

Children's breathing pure oxygen may affect heart functions edited by Heart Problems, all rights reserved, Do not copy or revise without our permission.