Lab for Equilibrium Investigations and Aerospace (LEIA)

Organisation profile:LEIA is a continuation of the group AUREA (Antwerp University Research Center for Equilibrium and Aerospace), which was formerly part of BIMEF. This group was never officially ratified. LEIA was therefore established in October 2018 in a separate entity. The research within LEIA is divided into 2 major parts: on one hand equilibrium research and on the other research on the impact of weightlessness and spaceflight on the human body and in particular on the neurosensory system and the brain. Equilibrium research involves the study of various disorders of the human equilibrium system. Especially Mal de Debarquement Syndrome and Visual Induced Dizziness have been investigated in recent years and are the subject of a study of current projects. But other disorders of the balance system are also studied. Hereto, patients with specific vestibular disorders are examined. Until 2017 these patients were recruited at the NKO service of the UZA, but since 2018 these patients have been recruited at the NKO service of the St Augustinus Hospital in Wilrijk. Space research is situated on one hand on the BRAIN-DTI project and on the other hand the GAZE-SPIN project. Both ESA projects are funded by BELSPO. For BRAIN-DTI, cosmonauts are examined with advanced MRI techniques before and after their space flight of typically 6 months to the International Space Station ISS. An additional scan is also made 7 months after their return. Several remarkable findings have been uncovered, which have e.g. been published in The New England Journal of Medicine (Impact Factor 79.2). This research will continue for at least 4 years. In addition, for the GAZE-SPIN project, 40 cosmonauts have so far been tested in terms of their equilibrium organs by placing them on a special centrifuge in Star City near Moscow before and after their space flight. This research also runs for at least 4 more years.

Keywords:WEIGHTLESSNESS, BRAIN PLASTICITY

Disciplines:Neurosciences, Otorhinolaryngology, Biophysics