Introduction: Special Operations Forces SOF often conduct operations in physiologically stressful environments such as severe heat, cold, or hypoxia, which can induce decreases in a variety of cognitive abilities. PLA over 2 days of tactical mountain operations training. The participants ascended from 7, ft in altitude basecamp to 12, ft on 1 day and 13, ft the other day in randomized order , while performing various training activities inducing high physical and cognitive loads over 8β12 h, and consumed six doses of KME or PLA 2β3 h apart throughout each training day.
Results and Discussion: While KME increased blood ketone levels and decreased glucose levels, there were no clear indications that the elevated ketone level enhanced physical or cognitive performance. KME also produced a greater incidence of heartburn, nausea, and vomiting. In these elite operators, high-altitude mountaineering had a limited impact on cognitive performance, and KME supplementation did not demonstrate any benefit.
Special Operations Forces SOF conduct extended, long-range patrols, which demand intense physical and cognitive exertion, often occurring in physiologically stressful environments such as severe heat, cold, or hypoxia Shaw et al.
In studies conducted with military personnel involved in field training exercises designed to simulate combat operations, decline in a variety of cognitive functions have been observed, including vigilance, attention, and memory Lieberman et al. Therefore, there is an urgent need for countermeasures that enhance resiliency or augment operator performance during missions and maximize the efficiency of training by mitigating the deleterious effects imposed by these challenging environments.
Mountainous terrain is one of these challenging environments that had a high demand for US military operations in the war against terrorism in recent decades.
