Neural activation is enhanced with operational task ecological validity during complex cognitive tasks

Introduction Extended exposure to a microgravity environment has been related to cognitive and neural decrements in astronauts, including changes in brain morphology and connectivity. Future long-duration exploration missions, such as those to Mars, will require the development of new countermeasures to counteract these decrements. Training in virtual reality (VR) has been identified as a promising potential countermeasure. Though there has been extensive research into VR as a tool for neurorehabilitation and microcognitive testing, little is understood about the neural effects of training in VR for operationally relevant tasks. Methods This research utilized functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencepholography (EEG) to measure neural activation during task completion in a VR environment with spaceflight-relevant tasks as compared to one with microcognitive corollary tasks. Results We find that a complex, operationally relevant VR environment elicits enhanced brain activation compared to the matching corollary tasks designed to target equivalent specific cognitive domains, for both EEG ( p < 0.0005) and fNIRS ( p < 0.001). Discussion These results indicate that brain activation and recruitment is increased when the task has higher ecological validity, providing an objective assessment to inform countermeasure development for spaceflight associated neural decrements.