Human research · observational
Yang W et al., Frontiers in Neuroscience 2026
In an exploratory longitudinal EEG study of 16 male Antarctic winter-over expeditioners, delta-band eyes-closed minus eyes-open (EC-EO) log-power differentiation shifted progressively more negative across the mission, with the main change between pre-polar-night and early post-polar-night assessments and persistence into austral summer. This is a candidate resting-state EEG reactivity index (the authors deliberately avoid the word biomarker), not a clinical outcome. There was no control group and no light, sleep, mood or melatonin data, so the change cannot be attributed to polar-night light deprivation rather than isolation, season, workload or time on the mission.
Source: Longitudinal changes in resting-state EEG eyes-closed/open delta differentiation during an Antarctic expedition. Yang W, Tian H, Xie G, Xu Y, Wang Q, Yin Y, Liu W, Jiang Y. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2026;20:1944325. doi:10.3389/fnins.2026.1944325. PMID:42890273; PMC13672630. Epub 2026-10-02
Verified research card EL-20261019-01-R1