Aerospace Physiology

Spatial disorientation

Spatial disorientation is the single most common cause of serious aircraft mishaps. Spatial disorientation develops during flying because visual references are commonly lacking and because the vestibular system is incapable of correctly detecting certain movements under conditions where the gravitoinertial force vector deviates from normal (1 G). We investigate how complex stimulation of the vestibular system in a centrifuge and/or aircraft affects an individual’s spatial orientation.

Increased gravitoinertial load

Pilots flying high-performance aircraft may be exposed to gravitoinertial loads as high as 9 times the gravity vector (9 G), which results in considerable strain on several organ systems. For instance, to maintain adequate arterial pressure at the level of the head while exposed to 9G in the head-to-foot direction, arterial pressure at heart level must be increased threefold from normal values. This can be achieved by pressurizing both the pilot’s anti-G suit and his/her breathing gas, but also by means of blood-pressure increasing muscular straining maneuvers performed by the pilot. The project investigates physiological responses to increased G load and develops G-protective garments/techniques.

Weightlessness

Several of the physiological adaptations to weightlessness may be induced by means of ground-based (1 G) simulation models, of which prolonged, sustained recumbency (bed rest), in the horizontal or slightly head-down position, is the most common. The project investigates physiological responses - cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, metabolic - to sustained bed rest. Such experiments are typically conducted within the frame of a multinational collaboration. Brief exposures to weightlessness can be induced by controlled free fall in aircraft, commonly termed parabolic flight. The environmental physiology group uses also this technique to study physiological responses to weightlessness.

Point of contact:

Roger Kölegård