Neurocognitive assessment in microgravity: review of tools and benefits of increasing their clinical validity for long duration missions.

INTRODUCTION: Clinical complications are not expected in current space missions; however, for future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, a new perspective may be needed - a more clinical approach. Different risks, both environmental, such as radiation, accidents, and biopsychological, including neurological problems, represent potential sources of subsequent neurocognitive deficits. AIMS: This study aims to review research studies published to this date in microgravity conditions using existing spaceflight neurocognitive assessment batteries. This study also discusses the different risks of neuropsychological impairment in spaceflight and the potential benefits of increasing the clinical validity of these tools with neurological clinical samples on Earth for future long-duration missions. METHOD: A PRISMA guidelines-based review of specialized literature on neurocognitive assessment batteries and human spaceflight was performed. Different factors including type of tool or battery used, sample size, mission duration, etc. were included in this review. After the scrutiny of 192 articles, a total of 27 studies were detailed in the review outcome. RESULTS: Results showed that neuropsychological function research target has changed over the years, with working memory and perception studies being predominant in the 80s and 90s while reaction time being more frequent in recent research. We also found a lack of language-related research in microgravity and the predominance of two neurocognitive assessment batteries in microgravity research. CONCLUSIONS: With this study, we want to emphasize the importance of increasing the clinical validity of neurocognitive or neuropsychological assessment tools to be used in space, especially in long-duration missions because in this type of mission the risk of suffering a brain injury or neurological condition increases due to multiple factors. Testing these tools with neurological clinical samples and using machine learning, predictive systems may help crews in early detection of potential clinical, neurological, or neurocognitive problems during these long-duration missions to Mars and beyond.

Neurocognitive and emotional status after one-year of mindfulness-based intervention in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common disabling neurological disease among young adults. The diagnosis of this disease usually leads to uncertainty, stress, and anxiety, which in turn can lead to negative outcomes. Consequently, the development of healthy lifestyle strategies can lead to better emotional management of perceived stress. Due to the importance of the patient's emotional response during the development and management of the disease and the repercussions of the cognitive deficits, the objective of this study is to develop a mindfulness-based intervention to provide to patients a tool for stress management. This study offers data on neuropsychological, functional and emotional outcomes in a sample of 30 patients with remitting relapsing form of MS after one year of intervention compared to 30 controls. We tested a model of intervention with a program of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, based on an adapted Jon Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program. Results showed cognitive and emotional benefits after one year following this program. Discussion about the opportunities of these types of intervention in neurological diseases is provided in light of results obtained. This study represents pioneering research in MS and psychological treatment of this neurological autoimmune disease and it offers positive results of applying mindfulness-based intervention in this population.

Neurocognitive Impairment in Severe Mental Illness. Comparative study with Spanish Speaking Patients.

BACKGROUND: Serious mental illness (SMI) represents a category of psychiatric disorders characterized by specific difficulties of personal and social functioning, derived from suffering severe and persistent mental health problems. AIMS: We wanted to look into differences in cognitive performance among different SMI patients. METHODS: Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) screening was applied in one sample of SMI patients (n = 149) and another of healthy comparison participants (n = 35). Within the SMI sample, three different subsamples were formed: one with 97 patients with schizophrenia, a second with 29 patients with mood disorders, and a third with 23 patients with personality disorder. We performed a comparative study within and between groups. RESULTS: Analysis of covariance was performed. Significant differences were found for cognitive functioning including attention and memory. CONCLUSIONS: RBANS can be recommended for the detection of neurocognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders, especially in Schizophrenia.

Communication Styles and Attention Performance in Primary School Children.

Communication styles are the three communication patterns that result from merging the verbal elements of communication, the non-verbal elements and the paraverbal elements. The objective of this study was to test what effect different communication styles have on attention performance in primary school children. We administered the assertive behavior scale for children (CABS), the symbol digit modalities test (SDMT) and the d2 attention test to a sample of 77 participants of primary school. A statistically significant and proportional correlation was found between the assertive communication style and the total number of correct answers of the SDMT. We also found positive correlations between the assertive communication style and d2 attention test performance. Children with an assertive communication style have better attention performance than children with passive or aggressive communication styles.

Wireless Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: A Pilot Experiment on Art and Brain⁻Computer Interfaces.

The present case study looked into the feasibility of using brain-computer interface (BCI) technology combined with computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) in a wireless network. We had two objectives; first, to test the wireless BCI-based configuration and the practical use of this idea we assessed workload perception in participants located several kilometers apart taking part in the same drawing task. Second, we studied the cortical activation patterns of participants performing the drawing task with and without the BCI technology. Results showed higher mental workload perception and broader cortical activation (frontal-temporal-occipital) under BCI experimental conditions. This idea shows a possible application of BCI research in the social field, where two or more users could engage in a computer networking task using BCI technology over the internet. New research avenues for CSCW are discussed and possibilities for future research are given.