Noise characteristics in spaceflight multichannel EEG

Abstract

The cognitive performance of the crew has a major impact on mission safety and success in space flight. Monitoring of cognitive performance during long-duration space flight therefore is of paramount importance and can be performed using compact state-of-the-art mobile EEG. However, signal quality of EEG may be compromised due to the vicinity to various electronic devices and constant movements. We compare noise characteristics between in-flight extraterrestrial microgravity and ground-level terrestrial electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. EEG data recordings from either aboard International Space Station (ISS) or on earth’s surface, utilizing three EEG amplifiers and two electrode types, were compared. In-flight recordings showed noise level of an order of magnitude lower when compared to pre- and post-flight ground-level recordings with the same EEG system. Noise levels between ground-level recordings with actively shielded cables, and in-flight recordings without shielded cables, were similar. Furthermore, noise level characteristics of shielded ground-level EEG recordings, using wet and dry electrodes, and in-flight EEG recordings were similar. Actively shielded mobile dry EEG systems will support neuroscientific research and neurocognitive monitoring during spaceflight, especially during long-duration space missions.

An ecological study protocol for the multimodal investigation of the neurophysiological underpinnings of dyadic joint action

“…However, on both aspects, state-of-the-art mobile EEG can be considered superior to mobile fNIRS systems. Most specifically, commercial mobile HD-EEG systems comprise, e.g., 64 to 256 lightweight electrodes ( Delaux et al, 2021 ; Stoyell et al, 2021 ; Fiedler et al, 2022 , 2023 ) fully integrated into cap systems covering the entire scalp. Therefore, EEG may currently be the best choice for hyperscanning studies of joint actions involving full body movements.…”

Effects of spaceflight on the EEG alpha power and functional connectivity

“…Bad channels were automatically identified by evaluating the mean power spectral density (PSD) of a given channel in the frequency band (70–100) Hz. A given channel was identified as a bad channel if its PSD is higher than the mean PSD + threefold standard deviation of all 55 channels of a given dataset 25 . Subsequently, bad channels were interpolated using spherical splines 48 , data were resampled to 512 Hz, and the DC offset of each individual channel was removed.…”

“…However, mission weight limit and microgravity environment are technical constraints. In this context, electroencephalography (EEG) has proven to be a technically feasible procedure in both transport and operational aspects 24 , 25 .…”

“…The analyzed dataset used in this study is a part of the NEUROSPAT experiment 6 , 25 . We performed a retrospective analysis of the EEG data, obtained during long-duration ISS missions, to evaluate functional brain networks under three different conditions: pre-fight ground level, in-flight extraterrestrial, and post-flight ground level.…”