Head Down Tilt Bed Rest Plus Elevated CO As a Spaceflight Analog: Effects on Cognitive and Sensorimotor Performance

Overview

Journal Front Hum Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2019 Nov 5

PMID 31680909

Citations 31

Authors

Jessica K Lee

Yiri de Dios

Igor Kofman

Ajitkumar P Mulavara

Jacob J Bloomberg

Rachael D Seidler

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

New And Noteworthy: We examined the effects of long duration head down tilt bed rest coupled with elevated CO as a spaceflight analog environment on human cognitive and sensorimotor performance. We found enhancements in processing speed and declines in functional mobility. A subset of participants exhibited signs of Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), which affects approximately one in three astronauts. These individuals increased their visual reliance throughout the intervention in comparison to participants who did not show signs of SANS.

Citing Articles

Eye problems cloud NASA's vision of Mars.

Savage N Nature. 2025; 639(8053):S2-S3.

PMID: 40044900 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-025-00654-7.

A multifactorial, evidence-based analysis of pathophysiology in Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS).

Galdamez L, Mader T, Ong J, Kadipasaoglu C, Lee A Eye (Lond). 2025; 39(4):700-709.

PMID: 39827235 PMC: 11885454. DOI: 10.1038/s41433-025-03618-3.

Cognitive performance in ISS astronauts on 6-month low earth orbit missions.

Dev S, Khader A, Begerowski S, Anderson S, Clement G, Bell S Front Physiol. 2024; 15:1451269.

PMID: 39633651 PMC: 11614644. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1451269.

Optic disc edema during strict 6° head-down tilt bed rest is related to one-carbon metabolism pathway genetics and optic cup volume.

Zwart S, Macias B, Laurie S, Ferguson C, Stern C, Suh A Front Ophthalmol (Lausanne). 2024; 3:1279831.

PMID: 38983014 PMC: 11182205. DOI: 10.3389/fopht.2023.1279831.

Effect of artificial gravity on neurocognitive performance during head-down tilt bedrest.

Tolgyesi B, Altbacker A, Barkaszi I, Stuckenschneider T, Braunsmann L, Takacs E NPJ Microgravity. 2024; 10(1):59.

PMID: 38839787 PMC: 11153507. DOI: 10.1038/s41526-024-00405-4.

References

Reschke M, Bloomberg J, Paloski W, Mulavara A, Feiveson A, Harm D . Postural reflexes, balance control, and functional mobility with long-duration head-down bed rest. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2009; 80(5 Suppl):A45-54. DOI: 10.3357/asem.br06.2009. View

Mulder E, Linnarsson D, Paloski W, Rittweger J, Wuyts F, Zange J . Effects of five days of bed rest with and without exercise countermeasure on postural stability and gait. J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact. 2014; 14(3):359-66. View

Bronstein A . The interaction of otolith and proprioceptive information in the perception of verticality. The effects of labyrinthine and CNS disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999; 871:324-33. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb09195.x. View

Roberts D, Albrecht M, Collins H, Asemani D, Chatterjee A, Spampinato M . Effects of Spaceflight on Astronaut Brain Structure as Indicated on MRI. N Engl J Med. 2017; 377(18):1746-1753. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1705129. View

Laurie S, Macias B, Dunn J, Young M, Stern C, Lee S . Optic Disc Edema after 30 Days of Strict Head-down Tilt Bed Rest. Ophthalmology. 2018; 126(3):467-468. DOI: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2018.09.042. View

Lopez C, Lacour M, Leonard J, Magnan J, Borel L . How body position changes visual vertical perception after unilateral vestibular loss. Neuropsychologia. 2008; 46(9):2435-40. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.03.017. View

Hargens A, Vico L . Long-duration bed rest as an analog to microgravity. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2016; 120(8):891-903. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00935.2015. View

Basner M, Nasrini J, Hermosillo E, McGuire S, Dinges D, Moore T . Effects of -12° head-down tilt with and without elevated levels of CO on cognitive performance: the SPACECOT study. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2018; 124(3):750-760. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00855.2017. View

Lee A, Tarver W, Mader T, Gibson C, Hart S, Otto C . Neuro-Ophthalmology of Space Flight. J Neuroophthalmol. 2016; 36(1):85-91. DOI: 10.1097/WNO.0000000000000334. View

10.

Welch R, Hoover M, Southward E . Cognitive performance during prismatic displacement as a partial analogue of "space fog". Aviat Space Environ Med. 2009; 80(9):771-80. DOI: 10.3357/asem.2415.2009. View

11.

Kelly T, Hienz R, Zarcone T, Wurster R, Brady J . Crewmember performance before, during, and after spaceflight. J Exp Anal Behav. 2005; 84(2):227-41. PMC: 1243980. DOI: 10.1901/jeab.2005.77-04. View

12.

Allen J, MacNaughton P, Cedeno-Laurent J, Cao X, Flanigan S, Vallarino J . Airplane pilot flight performance on 21 maneuvers in a flight simulator under varying carbon dioxide concentrations. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2018; 29(4):457-468. DOI: 10.1038/s41370-018-0055-8. View

13.

Kornilova L . Vestibular function and sensory interaction in altered gravity. Adv Space Biol Med. 1997; 6:275-313. DOI: 10.1016/s1569-2574(08)60087-8. View

14.

TIFFIN J, ASHER E . The Purdue pegboard; norms and studies of reliability and validity. J Appl Psychol. 1948; 32(3):234-47. DOI: 10.1037/h0061266. View

15.

Lackner J, DiZio P . Motor function in microgravity: movement in weightlessness. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1996; 6(6):744-50. DOI: 10.1016/s0959-4388(96)80023-7. View

16.

Koppelmans V, Erdeniz B, De Dios Y, Wood S, Reuter-Lorenz P, Kofman I . Study protocol to examine the effects of spaceflight and a spaceflight analog on neurocognitive performance: extent, longevity, and neural bases. BMC Neurol. 2013; 13:205. PMC: 3878338. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2377-13-205. View

17.

Koppelmans V, Pasternak O, Bloomberg J, De Dios Y, Wood S, Riascos R . Intracranial Fluid Redistribution But No White Matter Microstructural Changes During a Spaceflight Analog. Sci Rep. 2017; 7(1):3154. PMC: 5466616. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-03311-w. View

18.

Yuan P, Koppelmans V, Reuter-Lorenz P, De Dios Y, Gadd N, Wood S . Increased Brain Activation for Dual Tasking with 70-Days Head-Down Bed Rest. Front Syst Neurosci. 2016; 10:71. PMC: 4993791. DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2016.00071. View

19.

Nair M, Mulavara A, Bloomberg J, Sangi-Haghpeykar H, Cohen H . Visual dependence and spatial orientation in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. J Vestib Res. 2018; 27(5-6):279-286. PMC: 5801771. DOI: 10.3233/VES-170623. View

20.

Willey C, Jackson R . Visual field dependence as a navigational strategy. Atten Percept Psychophys. 2014; 76(4):1036-44. PMC: 4429127. DOI: 10.3758/s13414-014-0639-x. View