Responsible Center: NASA JSC
Grant Monitor: Whitmire, Alexandra
Center Contact: alexandra.m.whitmire@nasa.gov
Unique ID: 12443
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Solicitation / Funding Source: 2017-2018 HERO 80JSC017N0001-BPBA Topics in Biological, Physiological, and Behavioral Adaptations to Spaceflight. Appendix C
Grant/Contract No.: 80NSSC19K1046
Project Type: FLIGHT
Flight Program:
TechPort: No |
No. of Post Docs: 0
No. of PhD Candidates: 0
No. of Master's Candidates: 0
No. of Bachelor's Candidates: 0
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No. of PhD Degrees: 0
No. of Master's Degrees: 0
No. of Bachelor's Degrees: 0
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Human Research Program Elements: |
(1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
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Human Research Program Risks: |
(1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders (2) Sensorimotor:Risk of Altered Sensorimotor/Vestibular Function Impacting Critical Mission Tasks
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Human Research Program Gaps: |
(1) BMed-101:We need to identify, quantify, and validate the key selection factors for astronaut cognitive and behavioral strengths (e.g., resiliency) and operationally-relevant performance threats for increasingly Earth independent, long-duration, autonomous, and/or long-distance exploration missions. (2) BMed-102:Given exposures to spaceflight hazards (space radiation, isolation), how do we identify individual susceptibility, monitor molecular/biomarkers and acceptable thresholds, and validate behavioral health and CNS/neurological/neuropsychological performance measures and domains of relevance to exploration class missions? (3) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions? (4) BMed-104:Given the potentially negative spaceflight associated CNS changes and behavioral experiences of stressors during long-duration missions (e.g., isolation, confinement, reduced sensory stimulation, altered gravity, space radiation), what are validated modifications to habitat/vehicle to mitigate stressors impacting on CNS / cognition / behavioral health? (5) BMed-105:Given the potentially negative spaceflight associated CNS/cognitive changes and behavioral experiences of stressors during long-duration missions (e.g., isolation, confinement, reduced sensory stimulation, altered gravity, space radiation), what are validated medical or dietary countermeasures to mitigate stressors impacting on CNS / cognition / behavioral health? (6) BMed-107:What are the long-term changes and risks to astronaut health post-mission that, when using a continuity of care model, helps retrospectively identify and understand individual susceptibility (e.g., hereditary, dose, thresholds) to mitigate adverse CNS, cognitive, and behavioral health changes resulting from long-duration exploration missions, promoting the behavioral health of current and future crews? (7) BMed-108:Given each crewmember will experience multiple spaceflight hazards simultaneously, we need to identify and characterize the potential additive, antagonistic, or synergistic impacts of multiple stressors (e.g., space radiation, altered gravity, isolation, altered immune, altered sleep) on crew health and/or CNS/ cognitive functioning to develop threshold limits and validate countermeasures for any identified adverse crew health and/or operationally-relevant performance outcomes. (8) SM-104:Evaluate how weightlessness-induced changes in sensorimotor/vestibular function relate to and/or interact with changes in other brain functions (sleep, cognition, attention).
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Flight Assignment/Project Notes: |
NOTE: End date changed to 09/30/2033 per S. Mack-Phillips/JSC (Ed., 8/17/23)
NOTE: End date changed to 12/31/2027 per NSSC information (Ed., 1/27/21) |
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Task Description: |
As part of the CIPHER project (Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research), we are investigating visuospatial brain domain changes and spatial cognition in the up to 30 CIPHER crewmembers assigned to 6-, and 12-month ISS missions as well as in an equal number of age-, sex- and education-matched ground controls. The experiment is part of an international project consisting of three experiments (lead by Drs. Basner, Stahn, and Ivkovic, respectively) with synergistic aims that are being carried out in a joint effort by NASA and DLR/ESA. Dr. Stahn’s project specifically targets spatial cognition, how it relates to structural and functional brain changes and their molecular signatures. Given the impact of visuospatial brain domain changes on neurobehavioral functioning, operations and safety during LDM (i.e., docking, landing, navigating on the planetary surface), spatial cognition and its neural basis are a key concern for extended mission durations. Dr. Ivkovic’s team will assess sleep, stress and immune responses, and operational performance leveraging the Canada arm simulator— Robotic on Board Trainer for Research (ROBoT-r). These projects are presented separately in other abstracts. This project (PI Dr. Basner) focuses on neurostructural and cognitive changes. Astronauts will each perform NASA’s Cognition test battery before, during, and after their 6-, or 12-month ISS missions. Based on protracted performance decrements observed in Scott Kelly after his one-year mission, the last test bout will be performed 1 year after return to Earth. The data will be used to generate temporal profiles of human cognitive performance that will inform future long-duration deep space missions. They will also be combined with existing Cognition data collected by the PI and his team on the ISS and in several space analog environments on Earth as the basis for a normative database for long-duration space missions. All astronauts will undergo structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) before and immediately after the mission (R+5, R+30). They will perform a version of the Cognition test battery that was specifically designed for the MRI (i.e., fCog) in the scanner. We will correlate structural and functional changes observed during fMRI scans post-flight relative to pre-flight with in-flight changes in Cognition performance to establish the biological basis for any observed cognitive performance changes. We will also integrate the general cognitive performance data from Cognition with spatial navigation, learning, and memory data as well as with biomarkers collected in Project B (Spatial Cognition and Hippocampal Plasticity During Long-Duration Low-Earth Orbit Missions: HypoCampus in i1YMP) before, during, and after flight. The current plan is to investigate 13 astronauts on 6- or 12-month ISS missions as well as 13 age and sex matched controls, who will perform tests/scans at the same intervals as the matched astronaut but with a 2-month delay. |
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Research Impact/Earth Benefits: |
The three projects will deliver a highly unique and comprehensive set of integrated neuroimaging and neurocognitive tools for the evaluation and ultimately prevention of adverse effects on brain structure and function that lead to behavioral effects associated with exploration-type missions. As the Cognition test battery was developed for high-performing subject populations, this work will also translate to high performing populations on Earth (e.g., physicians, submariners). |