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The Impact of Long-term Isolation in Antarctica on Social Touch and Its Underlying Biological Mechanisms in Winter-over Crew Members, Assessed During Their Stay Using Standardized Touch Stimulation, Computer-based Touch Sensitivity Tests, Questionnaires and Biological Markers.
Sponsor: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Summary
TACTICE investigates how long-term isolation and reduced social touch during an Antarctic winter-over affect the way people perceive and respond to touch. The study will follow winter-over crew members at Concordia Station in Antarctica during the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The study focuses on so-called C-tactile (CT) sensitivity. CT afferents are specialized nerve fibers in the skin that are known to be involved in the pleasant and regulatory effects of social touch. They may also play a role in how prolonged social isolation affects people during a long-term mission in an isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environment. Participants will be assessed repeatedly before, during and after their stay. CT sensitivity will be measured using standardized touch stimulation and computer-based tasks involving touch-related stimuli. Participants will also complete questionnaires on social touch, loneliness, stress, relationships and coping. Saliva and blood samples will be collected to measure biological markers related to stress regulation and social processes, including cortisol and oxytocin. The main hypothesis is that prolonged isolation and reduced opportunities for social touch change CT sensitivity and reduce an important source of stress regulation. These changes are expected to become more pronounced with time spent at the station and to be related to changes in stress responses, behaviour, attitudes and interpersonal functioning. The study aims to improve understanding of how people adapt to prolonged isolation and confinement and may help inform the planning of future long-duration missions in remote and extreme environments, including space missions.
Official title: Touching the Void: An Investigation Into the Role of a Population of Gentle Touch-Sensitive C-Tactile Afferents in Social Isolation and Somatosensory Deprivation During a Long-Duration Antarctic Stay.
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
28
Start Date
2026-10
Completion Date
2031-02
Last Updated
2026-10-05
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
No Intervention: Observational Cohort
TACTICE is considered an observational study because the exposure of interest(i.e., long-term isolation and confinement during an Antarctic winter-over at Concordia Station) is not assigned by the study investigators. Participants are winter-over crew members who will stay at Concordia independently of their participation in TACTICE. The study follows this predefined cohort prospectively and repeatedly over time to observe changes in CT sensitivity, stress-related biological markers, behaviour, attitudes and interpersonal functioning. The protocol therefore describes TACTICE as a "longitudinal study with a naturalistic design. The standardized touch stimulation, computer-based tasks, questionnaires, saliva sampling and blood sampling are used as study assessments to measure outcomes over time and not as therapeutic or diagnostic interventions.