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Postflight balance control recovery in an elderly astronaut: a case reportOBJECTIVE: To examine the sensorimotor adaptive response of a 77-year-old man exposed to the gravito-inertial challenges of orbital space flight. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective case study with retrospective comparisons. SETTING: NASA Neurosciences Laboratory (Johnson Space Center) and Baseline Data Collection Facility (Kennedy Space Center). PRIMARY PARTICIPANT: One 77-year-old male shuttle astronaut. INTERVENTION: Insertion into low Earth orbit was used to remove gravitational stimuli and thereby trigger sensorimotor adaptation to the microgravity environment. Graviceptor stimulation was reintroduced at landing, and sensorimotor readaptation to the terrestrial environment was tracked to completion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Computerized dynamic posturography tests were administered before and after orbital flight to determine the magnitude and time course of recovery. RESULTS: The elderly astronaut exhibited balance control performance decrements on landing day; however, there were no significant differences between his performance and that of younger astronauts tested on the same shuttle mission or on previous shuttle missions of similar duration. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that the physiological changes attributed to aging do not necessarily impair adaptive sensorimotor control processes.
Document ID
20040087417
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Paloski, William H.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston TX United States)
Black, F. Owen
Metter, E. Jeffrey
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology
Volume: 25
Issue: 1
ISSN: 1531-7129
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: 1ZO1AG00014-41
CONTRACT_GRANT: 205
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Case Reports

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