This project deployed 2 objective neurobehavioral monitoring techniques (psychomotor vigilance This project deployed two objective neurobehavioral monitoring techniques (psychomotor vigilance test (PVT); facial video for optical computer recognition (OCR) and 2 mood scales (Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) in the 105-day Russian chamber study at the Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow, Russia. The IBMP chamber consisted of interconnected sealed modules to simulate a space craft (analog) environment that included confinement, isolation, time delays, pressurization, dependence on and autonomy from mission control, and related behavioral factors. The 105-day isolation experiment in the chamber was the second of IBMP's three chamber studies (14-day study, 105-day study, and 520-day study), which collectively are referred to by IBMP as the Mars-500 project. IBMP indicated that the 105-day chamber study focused on obtaining and analyzing scientific-technical information for optimal organization of preparation and efficient conduct of the main (third) experiment (i.e., 520-day study) simulating all the stages of a manned flight to Mars. Consequently, the 105-day chamber experiment was a pilot study for the 520-day experiment. Lessons learned in the 105-day study were to be used to improve experimental techniques and the completeness and validity of the data acquired in the 520-day study.

This project on Objective Monitoring of Crew Neurobehavioral Functions in RCS-105 was one of 72 separate protocols conducted in the IBMP's 105-day chamber study. The overall goals of this project were to (1) determine the feasibility of acquiring neurobehavioral data (facial video, cognitive performance, psychological assessments) on the 6-person crew during the 105-day simulated mission, using specially programmed computers (mission controllers were added to the data acquisition requirements after the study commenced); (2) determine the feasibility of monitoring mood and fatigue states in crew members throughout the 105-day mission; and (3) Determine the reliability of 3-minute PVT performance throughout the 105 days.

Acquisition of neurobehavioral data on the 6 crewmembers during the 105-day mission in the IBMP Mars-500 chamber was successfully completed using specially programmed notebook computers. During the simulated mission, crewmembers completed a total of 85 (94%) scheduled Beck Depression Inventories (BDI-II); 78 (87%) scheduled Positive and Negative Affect Schedules (PANAS); 1,104 (88%) Psychomotor Vigilance Tests (PVT) and visual analog scale (VAS) ratings; and 19 (63%) WinSCAT tests. Facial videos of crewmembers to assess feasibility of optical computer recognition (OCR) of emotional expressions and fatigue during the PVT tests yielded only 125 (11%) videos technically adequate for OCR evaluation, due to interference from facility lighting (i.e., face shadowed or too dark). Data from 19 mission controllers showed lower adherence on all measures than did the crewmembers. Controllers completed 63% of the PANAS and BDI-II assessments, and only 50% of PVT. Across time in mission, crewmembers' positive mood states tended to decline modestly, but negative moods states and depression were not evident and did not increase. Similarly, VAS ratings of stress and unhappiness did not change across the 105-day mission. In contrast, VAS mental fatigue declined and alertness improved significantly across time in mission. PVT performance on the standard 10-min. PVT task showed increasing errors across time in mission, but the optimized 3-min. PVT did not, nor did measures from the WinSCAT performance battery. Mission controllers showed no statistically significant changes in either positive or negative mood states or performance across time in mission except for total errors on the 10-min. PVT, which appeared to be due to increasing lax effort on the task. Night shift work by crewmembers increased subjective (VAS) ratings of sleepiness, tiredness and physical exhaustion, and increased performance errors, on the PVT, especially the 3-min. optimized PVT. The 105-day project results identified the following changes to procedures that would be needed to ensure the success of such data in longer-duration analog studies (e.g., IBMP's 520-day Mars mission simulation). 1. Adherence to the neurobehavioral procedures in the special computer used need to be adjusted to reduce the evaluation time burden on crews. 2. Evaluation of data quality and quantity must occur regularly throughout the mission to reduce data loss by identifying and correcting problems. 3. Acquisition of facial video for OCR from the built-in computer camera is feasible in the chamber if environmental lighting is standardized, and if special portable lighting of the face in the plane of the computer screen is used during the testing, when video is acquired. 4. Acquisition of subjective reports should use brief rating scales, assess interpersonal conflicts, and by include a measure of social desirability bias at pre-mission. 5. Actigraphy should be used 24/7 during the mission to provide an objective measure of crew behavioral rest-activity cycles for interpretation of performance and subjective data.

1. Establish the extent to which prolonged confinement up to 520 days, under simulated space flight conditions (e.g., social isolation, time delays, simulated emergencies, etc.), affects positive and negative mood states and mood expressions across time in mission.

2. Establish the extent to which prolonged confinement up to 520 days, under simulated space flight conditions,affects the stability of psychomotor vigilance performance across time in mission.

3. Establish the extent to which prolonged confinement up to 520 days, under simulated space flight conditions, affects the frequency of perceived conflicts and interpersonal tension across time in mission.

4. Establish the extent to which prolonged confinement up to 520 days, under simulated space flight conditions, affects sleep duration, sleep quality, and both subjective and objective manifestations of fatigue.

5. Establish the extent to which prolonged confinement under simulated space flight conditions affects waking activity levels.

1. Evaluate the ability of near-infrared neuroimaging to more objectively detect clinical depression and assess its severity.
2. Improve our existing mobile near-infrared neuroimaging technology to enable more robust mobile monitoring of brain hemodynamics.

1. Create an OCR system capable of monitoring facial displays of specific emotions (i.e. angry, happy and sad).
2. Improve our current OCR system's ability to detect facial expressions of high versus low performance-induced stress.
3. Develop OCR algorithms to identify fatigue due to sleep loss based on slow eyelid closures (PERCLOS).
4. Test the technical feasibility of data acquisition and reliability of the advanced OCR system in spaceflight analogs that contain neurobehavioral stressors relevant to spaceflight (e.g., NEEMO).

Specific aims of this project are twofold: (1) develop a methodology to assess cognitive and emotional state “at a distance” through spontaneous verbal output in real-time communications and (2) produce a real-time assessment tool to detect cognitive performance deficits, stress, fatigue, anxiety, and depression in the spaceflight operational setting. Primary tasks for the first year include: (1) the development of a working model of cognitive performance deficits, stress, fatigue and anxiety in spaceflight and (2) the generation of a lexicon (in American English) indicative of these constructs. Second and third years of the project will focus on the validation of the lexical methodology through a multi-level empirical research. The primary tasks include: (1) validation via archival analysis of previously collected data, (2) validation studies conducted with representative and analogue populations, and (3) delivery of a transparent system which allows for real-time assessment and graphical display of stress processes drawn from ongoing verbal or textual communications. These tasks will afford an investigation of the topography of shifts in lexicon word use over the course of individual and team performance, examine lexicon word use to gauge stress effects, cognitive load, anxiety, etc., and predict individual and team performance outcomes.

This study aims to test and implement the NeuroCATs toolkit on the ISS-12 mission.  This will permit rapid assessment of performance in cognitive, social-emotional and sensorimotor domains and help inform whether cognitive changes may exist over an extended duration in space.

1) To evaluate the extent to which PVT Self Test performance of astronauts is sensitive to fatigue from sleep loss and circadian disruption during ISS missions. This will include the following conditions evaluated individually and in aggregate: i) extended wake duration between 16 hours; ii) sleep restriction defined as total sleep time >0 and <6 hours per 24-hour period; and iii) circadian perturbation associated with night work and slam shifting.

2) To evaluate the extent to which PVT Self Test performance of astronauts is sensitive to fatigue from work intensity during ISS missions. This will include the following conditions evaluated individually and in aggregate: i) extend work durations up to 16 hours per day; ii) more than 6 consecutive work days without a day off for rest; and iii) work requiring extravehicular activity (EVA).

3) To evaluate the extent to which PVT Self Test performance of astronauts declines with time in mission.

4) To explore the extent to which PVT Self Test performance of astronauts will be sensitive to the carry-over effects of medications for sleep (e.g., zolpidem, ramelteon, etc.) on ISS.

Develop a prototype software measure of stress based on physiological outcomes.

Given the extended duration of future missions and the isolated, extreme, and confined environments, there is the possibility that stress-related behavioral conditions and mental disorders (DSM-IV-TR) will develop. The overarching goal of this project is to deliver an integrated system that will track physiological signals (heart rate and heart rate variability) and behavioral signals (sleep wake patterns) to detect chronic stress, hyperarousal, and insomnia during space missions. This project will deliver both the sensor hardware and signal processing software needed for the real-time data collection and integration with other behavioral health monitoring systems (e.g., Individualized Fatigue Meter and Individualized Behavioral Health Meter).

This is an SBIR Phase 2 project and the third and final component of the Behavioral Health and Performance Dashboard Software (BHP-DS)

1. Provide assessment of behavioral health based on crew psychologist/psychiatrist observations and ratings, and other potential indicators such as food consumption and exercise duration.

We held a workshop inviting subject matter experts, operations personnel, and research personnel to inform and develop a Team Standardized Measure that will feed into Standardized Behavioral Measures for Detecting Behavioral Health Risks during Exploration Missions (Standardized BHP Measures). The overarching goal was to identify and recommend thematically appropriate, scientifically valid, and operationally acceptable BHP Team Risk assessment and characterization measures for inclusion in the SBMT suite.

1. Evaluate feasibility of assessing verbal and non-verbal communications through an automated measures to provide insight into team cohesion, affective and cognitive states and team performance.

2. Conduct analysis with crew data resources.

Data may be collected via analogous populations or crew members on orbit (currently TBD).
This task is part of the BHP/SHFE/HHC Sensorimotor Integrated Campaign. This task informs gap Bmed2.

In the field of human spaceflight, the development and validation of real-time performance metrics, and quantification of performance during operationally-relevant tasks and scenarios has the potential for making existing operations safer and more efficient, as well as for improving the design of future vehicles. The identification of critical performance decrements, either in measures of task performance, workload, or situational awareness, may be used to alter the human-automation task allocation or suggest changes to crew resource management.

1. Define the system architecture for integrating vehicle and environmental models with the simulation environment for configuring the scenarios, and logging and analyzing the data. This will result in a configurable and portable research simulation capability.
2. Perform a critical analysis of four piloted tasks: Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV/Orion docking, Lunar Landing, and Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) self-rescue. Simulator data will be analyzed to identify the specifics of candidate metrics for performance, workload, and situational awareness. Options for presenting feedback to the operator will be developed and evaluated, and integrated with the flight displays and performance analysis algorithms.
3. Conduct a series of experiments using the simulated spaceflight tasks and real-time metrics engine to baseline performance, workload, and situational awareness in each task in order to develop methods for alerting the operator to deviations from nominal. Analysis will be conducted for each scenario and meta-analysis across scenarios will be conducted to determine commonalities and to set absolute performance thresholds

This research task will contribute to the HARI risk and gaps by developing and validating real-time metrics for assessing flight performance, workload, and situational awareness as a function of time.