Psychophysiology Research Laboratory

The Psychophysiology Research Laboratory investigated how thoughts, emotions, fatigue, motivation and stress relate to physiological responses. Studies examined people working in high-stress operational settings—U.S. Coast Guard crews during search and rescue, soldiers in armored vehicles, passengers on future air taxis and astronauts in space—and used autonomic, central nervous system, musculoskeletal and subjective measures to assess stress, discomfort and adaptation.

Much of the work focused on altered gravity (microgravity or high-G) with the overall aim of maximizing health, productivity and safety in space; this work contributed to the development of the Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE). The laboratory also supported education and transfer of NASA technology to Earth applications.

The lab addressed the need for ground-based and flight studies of vestibular/autonomic interaction as it relates to adapting to microgravity and readapting to Earth.

United States

psychophysiology, autogenic feedback, afte, nasa, microgravity, high-g, vestibular, autonomic, cns, astronauts