Optical and psychophysical studies of the visual system of cosmonauts before and after long orbital flights

Danilichev, S.N., Pronin, S.V., Shelepin, Y.E., Kulikov, A.N., Manko, O.M.

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For Russian citation (Opticheskii Zhurnal):

Даниличев С.Н., Пронин С.В., Шелепин Ю.Е., Куликов А.Н., Манько О.М. Оптические и психофизические исследования зрительной системы космонавтов до и после длительных орбитальных полетов // Оптический журнал. 2019. Т. 86. № 11. С. 21–28. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2019-86-11-21-28

Danilichev S.N., Pronin S.V., Shelepin Yu.E., Kulikov A.N., Manko O.M. Optical and psychophysical studies of the visual system of cosmonauts before and after long orbital flights [in Russian] // Opticheskii Zhurnal. 2019. V. 86. № 11. P. 21–28. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2019-86-11-21-28

For citation (Journal of Optical Technology):

S. N. Danilichev, S. V. Pronin, Yu. E. Shelepin, A. N. Kulikov, and O. M. Man’ko, "Optical and psychophysical studies of the visual system of cosmonauts before and after long orbital flights," Journal of Optical Technology. 86(11), 691-696 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1364/JOT.86.000691

Abstract:

The changes in the spatial and frequency characteristics of the visual system, visual acuity, and the morphological structures of the macular zone of the retina in cosmonauts and pilots as a result of various gravitational loads were studied. We found that, after long space missions, cosmonauts exhibit a slight but statistically significant decrease in distance visual acuity, a significant decrease in contrast sensitivity mainly in the middle and low spatial frequencies, a decrease in the light sensitivity of the macular zone, a decrease in the optical density of the macular retinal pigment, and thickening of the chorioretinal layer. A pronounced decrease in contrast sensitivity in the low- and medium-spatial-frequency regions but an insignificant one in the high-spatial-frequency region and accordingly a small decrease in visual acuity indicate a disruption of the operation of the nerve structures of the visual analyzer, probably resulting from an increase in the level of internal noise. This increase in the level of internal noise in cosmonauts is associated with a prolonged exposure to microgravity, which causes a disruption of normal blood circulation.

Keywords:

long space missions, visual acuity, light sensitivity, frequency-contrast characteristic, optical coherence tomography, macula, paramacular region of retina, macular pigment, chorioretinal layer

OCIS codes: 170.4580, 170.4470

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