Neuroadaptation of Higher Cognitive Functions for Astronauts

Course Summary

Neural adaptation, or sensory adaptation, is a gradual decrease in the responsiveness of the sensory system to a constant stimulus over time. Space neuroadaptation refers to the various changes and adjustments the human central nervous system undergoes in response to the microgravity environment of space. Some aspects of these neuroadaptational changes have been studied. In space, sensory-motor coordination shows alterations in the vestibular system, leading to space motion sickness characterized by nausea, disorientation, and vertigo. Changes in proprioception affect the ability to coordinate movements. Additionally, there are visual and oculomotor changes, resulting in new visual reorientation and altered eye movements.

However, in space, there have not been in-depth studies of changes in higher cognitive functions such as general intelligence, facial processing, language processing, and color processing. This timely special course aims to introduce studies conducted on Earth, during +Gz acceleration, head-up tilt and in simulated microgravity conditions, such as head-down tilt bed rest, that show expected changes in human brain higher cognitive functions. This course covers innovations in artificial intelligence and blockchain designed to diagnose and mitigate the effects of changes in human cognition in space. Various Space Spin-off applications are explored.

Course Materials

Each attendee receives a soft copy of presentation materials and an individual Certificate of Completion.

Who Should Attend

• Space industry executives, decision-makers, and analysts
• Engineers working on Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Systems
• Engineers working in the robotics-human interface industry
• Human factors operators and program managers
• Medical and other health experts involved with space
• Teams involved in virtual reality simulations
• High-performance avionic human factors researchers
• Space mission designers and operations managers
• Space policy writers and lawmakers
• Space physiology experts

What You Will Learn

• Cerebral blood flow during human brain processing of language, colors on Earth and in space, faces on Earth and in space, intelligence and motor functions
• Cerebral blood flow during syncope
• Cerebral blood flow during gravitational loss of consciousness in pilots
• Applications of AI and Blockchain to data processing for diagnostics
• Related policy, legal, industrial, and economic implications.
• Space spin-off diagnostic technologies
• Space spin-offs for facial biometrics and cognitive biometrics
• Space spin-offs of Brain-Computer Interface Systems

Course Outline

1. Linguistic Processing

• Language processing in the auditory modality.
• Language processing in the visual modality.
• Handedness and language processing.
• Dyslexia and language processing.
• Transcranial Doppler measurements.
• Brain lateralization data analysis.
• Discussion of results and implications for space flights.
• Space spin-off application for aphasia in stroke patients.
• Space spin-off application in dyslexia.

2. Color Processing on Earth and in Space

• Simultaneous color contrast and color constancy as memory processes.
• Head-down rest cerebral blood flow measurements during color processing.
• Human cerebral blood flow spectral response.
• Gender and color processing - Color space in men and women.
• Functional transcranial Doppler sonography.
• Mechanisms of color processing – Wavelength encoding, energy encoding, and luminance effects on Earth and in space.
• Long-term potentiation and long-term depression on Earth and in space.
• Sensory conflicts and light flashes in space.
• Positron Emission Tomography studies of brain metabolism during color processing in male and female mouse models.
• Positron Emission Tomography studies of brain metabolism and neural networks during color and polarized light processing in male and female mouse models.
• Space spin-off application for achromatopsia or cortical color blindness in stroke patients.

3. Facial Processing on Earth and in Space

• Facial processing and ‘Theory of Mind’.
• Facial processing for team cohesion on the International Space Station.
• Cerebral blood flow lateralization during facial processing.
• Functional transcranial Doppler cerebral blood flow velocity during facial processing.
• Facial processing for the study of neuroplasticity and memory processes.
• Cerebral blood flow lateralization during facial processing in space.
• Space spin-off application for prosopagnosia or failure to recognize faces in stroke patients and patients with dementia.
• Space spin-offs for facial biometric applications.

4. General Intelligence on Earth and in Space

• General intelligence tests – Raven Progressive Matrices.
• Cerebral lateralization of general intelligence in men and women.
• Brain-Computer Interface Systems with AI.
• Space spin-off on mental state determination for robotics.
• Space spin-off applications on cognitive biometrics.
• Space spin-off applications in self-driving cars.

5. Cerebral Blood Flow in Syncope and During +Gz Acceleration

• Cerebral blood flow during syncope as a clinical model.
• Mechanisms of cerebral syncope.
• Cerebral blood flow during gravitational loss of consciousness (GLOC).
• Effects of GLOC countermeasures.

Instructor

Professor Philip C. Njemanze, M.D.

Dr. Philip C. Njemanze is a distinguished figure in the field of neuroscience and space medicine. He serves as the Chairman of the Institute of Space and Terrestrial Sciences and the International Institutes of Advanced Research and Training at Chidicon Medical Center Nigeria. He is also an Academician with the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and the UNESCO body for all space agencies worldwide. Dr. Njemanze is a former NASA Principal Investigator on the study of the brain in Space. His educational background includes a medical education at Rostov State Medical Institute, Russia. 1986. He has postgraduate training and fellowships in Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Angiology at Klinikum Grosshadern at the University of Munich, GUY’s Hospital (London), and Bowman Gray School of Medicine (North Carolina, USA). He served as Principal Investigator in brain physiology studies in hypergravity, funded by McDonnell Douglas and the U.S. Department of Defense. Dr. Njemanze is the author of over 200 published scientific works and the holder of more than two dozen patented inventions. His pioneering research has significantly advanced our understanding of brain function and adaptation in extreme environments, making substantial contributions to both neuroscience and space medicine. He is Chairman of the Institute of Space Medicine and Terrestrial Sciences, International Institutes of Advanced Research and Training in Nigeria.