Quantifying facial edema in microgravity Earth analog conditions to determine psychoneuroimmunological contribution to interpersonal conflict in spaceflight
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
When astronauts shift from 1G on the Earth’s surface to microgravity (MG) in space, fluid naturally shifts from the legs to the face. The resultant facial edema in space has the potential to make facial expression recognition more difficult. Misinterpreting facial expressions and their underlying emotions has the potential to increase interpersonal conflict. In long-duration spaceflight missions, stress levels are already running high, and immune function is often dysregulated. Minimizing the amount of additional stress astronauts encounter is highly desirable. To date, it is unknown whether neurocognitive deficits due to spaceflight stressors like confinement and isolation affect the ability of astronauts to interpret each other’s facial expressions. The overarching goal of this project is to determine if increased facial edema can cause facial expressions to be more difficult to interpret, and to quantify the amount and location of the facial edema in MG analog conditions. This was accomplished by establishing and putting into action a protocol for the collection of databases of facial expression photos and 3D scans of participants’ heads at various head-up and head-down tilt angles and different levels of facial edema. The facial expression photos were cropped and placed into an emotional recognition test for future use in tandem with NASA.
Description
2024
License
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International