A brain 'headset' aims to provide a high-resolution view of neural changes
that happen in the brain while space, and it will fly aboard Axiom Space's
first crewed launch, Ax-1.
If all goes to plan, the brain experiment, which comes from Israel-based
startup Brain.Space, will launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle on
April 6 along with the four private astronauts the Ax-1 mission. The crew,
whose flight was booked by Axiom Space, will embark on a 10-day excursion
which will include eight days of living and working aboard the International
Space Station.
The headset and associated hardware will be tested aboard the ISS,
Brain.Space said on their website. The experiment will also return to Earth
with the Ax-1 crew.
The company says that their examination of the brain will be unique, as,
according to them, to-date, "there is currently no high-quality longitudinal
data regarding the neural changes in prolonged space missions," their
website states.
By obtaining and studying this information, the company aims to gain more
insight into how the brain adapts in space, which is an environment full of
challenges like radiation, microgravity and isolation. Learning about the
"day-to-day plastic changes" of the brain, the company states on its
website. The company terms that these adaptations, could help future
spaceflyers get more comfortable in orbit.
Studies of neurons, or nervous system cells that include brain cells, have
been performed in space before. But, on its website, Brain.Space says that
these studies were performed using gel-based systems that assess electrical
activity at low resolution, known as EEGs (or electroencephalogram.)
The experiments, the company noted, "were complex to set up in microgravity
and only focused on simple brain activity measurements." Their EEG brain
headset, Brain.Space said, will simplify the setup and give far more detail
as to how the brain behaves.
The experimentation with this headset will monitor brain activity, along
with how the brain assesses and uses knowledge in space, also called
cognitive performance. Besides forming adaptations for future space flyers,
the headset should provide some metrics to assess the health of brains in
space, which may flow to more studies in the future.
The researchers aim to collect 15-minute EEG recordings twice a day across
eight days. Videos will flow to the company in Tel Aviv, Israel for
troubleshooting and assistance, and the data will then be analyzed at both
the company and its research partner, Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba,
Israel.
The tasks to be performed with the headset include looking at the "resting
state" of the brain in space, and looking at the brain while the research
subject looks at a "visual oddball" (a waveform). The startup says they hope
to be able to use this information to help individuals on Earth with brain
disorders, such as sleep problems or schizophrenia.
It is unclear how many crew members will participate in the experiment,
which is part of the larger set of Ramon Foundation experiments going to
space with crewmember Eytan Stibbe. (Brain.Space says all of the crew has
been trained to operate the headset.)
Stibbe was a long-time friend of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died
aboard space shuttle Columbia in 2003; Stibbe co-created the foundation in
part to honor Ramon's legacy. Stibbe will be the second Israeli astronaut to
reach space, after Ramon.