| タイトル | Genomic Measures to Predict Adaptation to Novel Sensorimotor Environments and Improve Personalization of Countermeasure Design |
| 本文（外部サイト） | http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160002229 |
| 著者（英） | Zanello, S.; Mulavara, A. P.; Peters, B.; Gadd, N. E.; Seidler, R. D.; Kreutzberg, G. A.; De Dios, Y. E.; Bloomberg, J. J. |
| 著者所属（英） | NASA Johnson Space Center |
| 発行日 | 2016-06-05 |
| 言語 | eng |
| 内容記述 | Introduction. Astronauts experience sensorimotor disturbances during their initial exposure to microgravity and during the re-adaptation phase following a return to an Earth-gravitational environment. These alterations may affect crewmembers' ability to perform mission-critical functional tasks. Interestingly, astronauts have shown significant inter-subject variation in adaptive capability during gravitational transitions. The ability to predict the manner and degree to which individual astronauts would be affected would improve the efficacy of personalized countermeasure training programs designed to enhance sensorimotor adaptability. The success of such an approach depends on the development of predictive measures of sensorimotor adaptation, which would ascertain each crewmember's adaptive capacity. The goal of this study is to determine whether specific genetic polymorphisms have significant influence on sensorimotor adaptability, which can help inform the design of personalized training countermeasures. Methods. Subjects (n=15) were tested on their ability to negotiate a complex obstacle course for ten test trials while wearing up-down vision-displacing goggles. This presented a visuomotor challenge while doing a full body task. The first test trial time and the recovery rate over the ten trials were used as adaptability performance metrics. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected for their role in neural pathways underlying sensorimotor adaptation and were identified in subjects' DNA extracted from saliva samples: catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT, rs4680), dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2, rs1076560), brain-derived neurotrophic factor genes (BDNF, rs6265), and the DraI polymorphism of the alpha-2 adrenergic receptor. The relationship between the SNPs and test performance was assessed by assigning subjects a rank score based on their adaptability performance metrics and comparing gene expression between the top half and bottom half performers. Results. Average ranks according to first trial time and recovery rate revealed that the top half performers were on average significantly faster at each trial, but both groups had similar recovery rates. Comparison of the gene allele frequency revealed higher occurrences of Met carriers at COMT and Val-Val carriers at BDNF for the top half versus bottom half performers. Discussion. Although this approach was limited by its small sample size, some observations could be made which support further exploration of this topic. Examination of allele frequency separated by performance-based ranking revealed higher frequencies of certain COMT and BDNF alleles for top half performers, which implies that these genes may play a significant role in influencing adaptation to novel sensorimotor environments. This would be in agreement with other findings in the literature that have associated COMT Met alleles with higher dopamine levels and BDNF Met alleles with impaired motor skills and learning. These results suggest that the identification of alleles at these genes may help inform the design of customized countermeasures to enhance sensorimotor adaptability during gravitational transitions. |
| NASA分類 | Aerospace Medicine |
| レポートNO | JSC-CN-35433 |
| 権利 | Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright |
| URI | https://repository.exst.jaxa.jp/dspace/handle/a-is/559370 |
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