Different adaptations of Chinese winter-over expeditioners during prolonged Antarctic and sub-Antarctic residence

Abstract

Prolonged residence in Antarctica is characterized by exposure to isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environment. Winter-over expeditioners at research stations often exhibit a complex of psychophysiological symptoms, which varied by stations and sociocultural backgrounds. To understand the different patterns of psychophysiological responses provoked by environmental stress, we conducted a longitudinal assessment of mood and endocrine function in two groups of Chinese expeditioners who were deployed to sub-Antarctic (Great Wall Station, 62°S, N = 12) and Antarctic (Zhongshan Station, 66°S, N = 16) from December 2003 to 2005. Measures of mood, thyroid function, the levels of plasma catecholamine, and circulating interleukins were obtained at departure from China, mid-winter (Antarctica), end of winter (Antarctica), and return to China, respectively. The Zhongshan Station crew experienced significant increases in fatigue, anger, tension, confusion, and decrease in free thyroxine (FT4), norepinephrine (NE), and epinephrine (E) during the winter, increase in thyrotropin (TSH) and total triiodothyronine (TT3) when returning, whereas their counterparts at Great Wall Station only experienced increased TT3 after deployment. Moreover, compared with the Great Wall Station crew, the Zhongshan Station crew exhibited greater increase in anger, greater decrease in FT4, total thyroxine (TT4), NE and E over the winter, and greater increase in TSH when returning. Chinese expeditioners who lived and worked at the Antarctic station and the sub-Antarctic station for over a year showed different change patterns in mood and endocrine hormones. Negative mood and endocrine dysfunction were positively associated with the severity of environment. The study is a supplement to scientific knowledge on psychophysiological variation under ICE environment, which has certain applied value for the development of preventive countermeasures or interventions.

Sex differences in stress and immune responses during confinement in Antarctica

“…General findings in respective studies describe hormonal changes due to an altered biological rhythm [4] which directly affects sleep pattern and quality [5][6][7] as well as psycho-social behavior [8]. Furthermore, endocrine and metabolic dysfunctions and negative mood patterns have been related to these adverse conditions [9,10], and also altered functions of the innate and adaptive immunity were identified [11][12][13][14][15].…”

Psychological Hibernation in Antarctica

“…Key stressors for participants include lack of social variation, monotony of the physical environment, confinement and limited privacy, and emotional and physical deprivations. While there are large individual variations in psychological resilience, foregoing research has long since documented that personnel overwintering on Antarctic stations are vulnerable to mental and somatic health problems ( Palinkas and Suedfeld, 2008 ; Arendt, 2012 ; Chen et al, 2016 ). Indeed, reductions in mood, adaptation problems, and sleep difficulties account for 60% of all diagnoses in Antarctica ( Palinkas et al, 1995 ; Lugg, 2005 ).…”

Coping E Padrões Biológicos De Sono Em Expedicionários Antárticos

“…Apesar das alterações do padrão de sono não terem sido associadas às alterações na estratégia de coping, na literatura há associação estabelecida a comprometimentos cognitivos e de humor (Barkaszi et al, 2016;Feuerecker et al, 2014;Tamura & Krüger, 2016). O fator humano pode ser causa de acidentes se o nível de vigília estiver reduzindo consideravelmente, impactando nas habilidades necessárias para a execução das tarefas, normalmente em situações monótonas em que há o emprego de ansiedade ou de motivação em excesso (Cunha e Conceição, 2013;Novacki, 2015), características encontradas no ambiente antártico (Chen et al, 2016;Zimmer et al, 2013). Psicol.…”

“…Ao longo dos últimos 10 anos (2006 a 2017), foram publicados menos de 30 estudos especializados, conforme consulta às bases de dados Web of Science e SCOPUS. As publicações mais recentes focam em estresse e coping (Anton-Solanas, O'Neil, Morris & Dunbar, 2016;Barkaszi, Takács, Czigler & Balázs, 2016); aspectos relacionados ao sono e ao ciclo circadiano (Brockmann et al, 2017;Chen, Wu, Li, Zhang & Xu, 2016;Feuerecker et al, 2014;Morris, Pilcher, & Powell, 2017); e à adaptação ao ambiente polar (Jin, Touyama, Yamada, Yamazaki, & Benno, 2014;Najjar et al, 2014;Pattarini, Scarborough, Sombito, & Parazynski, 2016).…”

“…Além do fenômeno do coping, estudos em ambientes ICE (Chen et al, 2016;Feuerecker et al, 2014;Nicolas, Bishop, Weiss, & Galdino 2016) indicam alterações no ritmo circadiano e de funções biológicas dos indivíduos devido à exposição a estressores, como a luz solar, impactando e se relacionando a fenômenos psicológicos (Flynn-Evans, Gregory, Arsintescu & Whitmire, 2016). O fotoperíodo sofre variações extremas nas estações austrais e boreais, ocorrendo dias com quase 24 horas de luminosidade natural no verão e noites prolongadas no inverno (Goswami, et al, 2012;Steinach et al, 2015).…”