A caving expedition highlights the complexities of field research

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A caving expedition highlights the complexities of field research
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 04, 2024

Lab-based research forms the foundation of modern scientific inquiry, but it often falls short in replicating real-world experiences. This limitation is particularly pronounced in fields like cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology, where environmental stressors significantly impact human thought and behavior.

To bridge this gap, a team led by Concordia University researchers ventured into the field to explore human responses in extreme conditions. Their efforts culminated in a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, detailing both the insights gained and the hurdles encountered during this challenging endeavor. The project was supervised by Emily Coffey, associate professor in the Department of Psychology.

The study was conducted alongside members of Speleo Quebec during an expedition in the Sierra Negra Mountain, 300 kilometers southeast of Mexico City. The researchers joined the team halfway through their three-week mission to explore a complex cave system. The expeditioners endured grueling physical conditions, isolation, and minimal living accommodations - conditions that starkly contrasted the controlled environment of a lab.

"Lab work is highly controlled and therefore reproducible across hundreds of tests, but it is not going to be very naturalistic," explained lead author Hugo Jourde, a PhD student in the Coffey Lab: Audition, Sleep and Plasticity. "On the other end of the spectrum are field missions, where you have no control over the environment. We believe there is value in both these approaches."

The team aimed to document the challenges of conducting field-based cognitive science while offering a framework for future studies. Their expedition served as a case study for evaluating the feasibility of such research. "At this point, the main focus was to see what was feasible and what was not," Jourde added.

Gathering data under demanding conditions

Four researchers joined seven spelunkers during the second week of the mission in March 2023. The group, ranging in age from 27 to 65, had varying levels of experience with caving and climbing.

The team employed a combination of tools and methods to collect data, including questionnaires, cognitive tasks, physiological readings, heart monitors, body-mounted cameras, and sleep measurements for a subset of participants. These approaches aimed to assess fatigue, emotional regulation, and cognitive performance.

However, logistical challenges, time constraints, and physical exhaustion required the researchers to quickly adapt their strategies. Despite the limitations, the team successfully collected valuable data. "The focus of this study was to see whether it was possible to gather data in this environment," Jourde emphasized. "We knew there would not be any statistical power to most of this, but we were able to gather data that was usable."

Implications for future research

The study provides a foundation for future investigations into human performance in extreme environments, a topic of interest to organizations like NASA and the European Space Agency. Insights from this research also have broader applications, including understanding the relationships between cognitive workload, sleep, and workplace safety in demanding jobs.

"Caving is an extreme environment, and it teaches us a lot about other dangerous and physically demanding work," Jourde noted. "People don't have to be taking part in a caving or space expedition; it's for anyone doing a difficult job."

Research Report:Beyond the lab: Feasibility of cognitive neuroscience data collection during a speleological expedition