Polar T3 Syndrome

Locally, I make lots of jokes about "getting the dumb...must be the T3"...I use it as an excuse for just about everything. It's a great excuse for...well, just about everything really. But what is it? There really are no solid conclusions - the jury seems to be still out, maybe that's because someone can still see a way to milk money out of doing studies, or maybe the suspected causes don't have a large enough study group. Maybe there simply aren't enough people affected by it worldwide to be able to market some magic panacea so nobody is really interested in it beyond the occasional research grant.

The people who are supposed to know and understand things believe that Polar T3 syndrome is caused by the body's overconsumption of the T3 hormone (produced by the thyroid) in an attempt to keep warm. The muscles consume the hormone, the brain isn't left with any, or at least not enough to perform at its normal levels. Anyone who understands how hypothermia works knows that the body shifts to "keep core warm" mode at the first sign that a body is exposed to the cold, the core is kept warm at the expense of the extremities and the brain (confusion is a symptom of hypothermia). But does cold make you stupid or are you stupid to be in the cold in the first place?

Thyroid function is also closely related to the much wider known SAD or seasonal affective disorder. It is thought that light, or the lack of, has more to do with SAD than cold but it seems obvious that the two conditions are closely related and that notion is affirmed by the requirement of undergoing a psychiatric evaluation to be allowed to even spend a winter in Antarctica.

For my part...I notice that my speeling has gone all to hell, though I spend very little time exposed to the cold. People around me seem stupider than normal too...often pausing during conversation while they search for a word. Is it T3? SAD? Something undefined yet very common to most if not all Antarctic winterovers? Locally we just say "toasty" - a catch all phrase that might mean irritable, fatigued or bear reference to the 1000 yard stare. Myself, and the station as a whole however seem to be in pretty high spirits and I would not describe myself as toasty at least not at this point. Check back on me in August.