Compensatory effects of the prefrontal cortex on attention networks in university students migrating to high altitude—An fNIRS study

High-altitude exposure extensively affects cerebral function. This study investigates attention networks (alertness, orientation, executive control) and prefrontal activation in migrants over 1, 2, and 3 years at high altitude. Using the Attention Network Test and fNIRS, we assessed 137 university students relocated to Tibet, with 65 plain controls. Behaviourally, migrants exhibited significantly lower vigilance, orientation, and executive control than plains, but no differences emerged across exposure time within the migrant group. Critically, fNIRS revealed neuro-behaviour dissociation: during orientation, bilateral ventral frontal pole and left superior temporal cortex activated at two years; during executive control, bilateral dorsal and ventral frontal pole cortex peaked at one year then declined. Brain-behaviour correlation showed negative association between orientation efficiency and prefrontal activation at one year, supporting neural efficiency. These findings suggest the frontal pole cortex exerts compensatory effects on attention networks under high-altitude conditions.