Shifts in broadband power and alpha peak frequency observed during long-term isolation.
Sci Rep
; 10(1): 17987, 2020 10 22.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1242031
ABSTRACT
Prolonged periods of social isolation and spatial confinement do not only represent an issue that needs to be faced by a few astronauts during space missions, but can affect all of us as recently shown during pandemic situations. The fundamental question, how the brain adapts to periods of sensory deprivation and re-adapts to normality, has only received little attention. Here, we use eyes closed and eyes open resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings to investigate how neural activity is altered during 120 days of isolation in a spatially confined, space-analogue environment. After disentangling oscillatory patterns from 1/f activity, we show that isolation leads to a reduction in broadband power and a flattening of the 1/f spectral slope. Beyond that, we observed a reduction in alpha peak frequency during isolation, but did not find strong evidence for isolation-induced changes that are of oscillatory nature. Critically, all effects reversed upon release from isolation. These findings suggest that isolation and concomitant sensory deprivation lead to an enhanced cortical deactivation which might be explained by a reduction in the mean neuronal population firing rate.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Isolation
/
Task Performance and Analysis
/
Visual Perception
/
Brain
/
Astronauts
/
Alpha Particles
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Sci Rep
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41598-020-75127-0
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