Facial Expression Perception and Psychological Changes During Space Analogs.

Area of Science:

• Space Medicine
• Human Factors Engineering
• Psychology

Background:

• Facial expression recognition (FER) is crucial for social interaction.
• Impaired FER is linked to mental health disorders and behavioral issues.
• Microgravity analog studies suggest potential behavioral health risks during spaceflight due to altered emotion processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate changes in facial expression recognition during short-duration space mission simulations.
• To explore associations between FER and psychological variables like stress, depression, and motivation.
• To assess the potential of FER as a tool for monitoring astronaut psychological health.

Main Methods:

• 15 subjects completed daily FER tests and psychological questionnaires before, during, and after simulated space missions.
• Statistical analyses including ANOVA, t-tests, and multiple regression were employed.
• Variables measured included stress, depression, loneliness, irritability, risk-taking, empathy, and intrinsic motivation.

Main Results:

• Subjects showed decreased accuracy in identifying angry, sad, and fearful faces as disgusted during the mission.
• Interest/enjoyment and perceived competence scores increased during the mission.
• FER data explained over 20% of the variance in depression and health/safety risk-taking.

Conclusions:

• Perceptual changes in FER occur even in short-duration space mission simulations, not solely in microgravity.
• While direct behavioral health impacts were not proven, FER shows promise for developing predictive models and monitoring tools.
• Further research is needed to validate FER-based tools for long-duration spaceflight.