| Astronauts must perform complex duties within the austere environment of space, and they must do so while undergoing prolonged periods of separation from family and friends, confinement to living quarters with limited privacy, high-demand workloads, and limited communication with Earth. These factors are compounded by a range of psychological and biological stressors that can vary over time (for example, emergency situations, sleep loss, physiological effects of reduced gravity and space radiation). Such conditions can lead to behavioral problems that involve alterations of mood, stress reactions, and interpersonal conflict among crewmembers, all of which can erode performance capability. If undetected and unmitigated, the problems can escalate to pose significant medical and operational risks.
NSBRI researchers are developing a range of new technologies to help astronauts detect changes in their mood, mental functions, and behavioral status. These include optical computer recognition software to unobtrusively track facial expressions of stress, emotion, and fatigue, and hand-held brain imaging technology for evaluating signs of depression. Astronauts may use computer software to diagnose and manage interpersonal conflicts, anxiety, and depression using a problem-solving approach.
Sleep deprivation experienced by the astronauts can lead to cognitive impairments with health, safety, and mission consequences. NSBRI investigators have developed a rapid and easy to use computer-based test that measures psychomotor vigilance and response speed and that is sensitive to the effects of sleep deficits on mental performance. In addition, NSBRI is studying the ability of a sleep-deprived human to perform complex robotic operations in order to develop objective self-evaluation criteria for crew members embarking on critical tasks. |
