Cyborgs and Space L1.2

Altering man's bodily functions to meet the requirements of extraterrestrialenvironments would be more logical than providing an earthly environment for him inspace ... Artifact-organism systems which would extend man's unconscious,self-regulatory controls are one possibility

By Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline

Manfred E. CIynes has since1956 been chief researchscientist at Rockland State, incharge of the DynamicSimulation Lab. A graduate ofthe Un iv. of Melbourne,Australia, and bolder of an M.S.from Juilliard School, he has forthe past 10 years been engagedin the design and developmentof physiological instrumentationand apparatus, ultrasonictransducers, and electronicdata-processing systems.

Nathan S. Kline has beendirector of research at RocklandState since 1952 and an assistantprofessor of clinical psychiatryat the Columbia Univ. Collegeof Physicians and Surgeonssince 1957. Author of more than100 papers, Dr. Kline holds aNew York Newspaper GuildPage One Award in science, theAdolph Meyer Award of theAssn. for Improvement ofMental Health, and the AlbertLasker Award of the AmericanPublic Health Association.

This article is based on a paper presented under the title of "Drugs, Spaceand Cybernetics "at the Psych ophysiologica I Aspects of Space FlightSymposium sponsored by the AF School of Aviation Medicine in SanAntonio, Tex., in May. The complete paper appeared in the Symposiumproceedings, published by Columbia Univ. Press.

SPACE travel challenges mankind not only technologically but alsospiritually, in that it invites man to take an active part in his own biologicalevolution. Scientific advances of the future may thus be utilized to permitman's existence in environments which differ radically from thoseprovided by nature as we know it.

The task of adapting man's body to any environment he maychoose will be made easier by increased knowledge of homeostaticfunctioning, the cybernetic aspects of which are just beginning to beunderstood and investigated. In the past evolution brought about thealtering of bodily functions to suit different environments. Starting as ofnow, it will be possible to achieve this to some degree without alterationof heredity by suitable biochemical, physiological, and electronicmodifications of man's existing modus vivendi.

Homeostatic mechanisms found in organisms are designed toprovide stable operation in the particular environment of the organism.Examples of three successful alternate solutions provided by biologicalmechanisms to the body-environment problem with regard to operatingtemperature are man, hibernating animals, and poikilothermic fish(organisms with blood that take on the temperature of the environment).

Various biological solutions have also been developed foranother problem-respiration. Mammals, fish, insects, and plants each havea different solution with inherent limitations but eminently suitable fortheir field of operation. Should an organism desire to live outside thisfield, an apparently "insurmountable" problem exists.

However, is the problem really insurmountable? If a fish wishedto live on land, it could not readily do so. If, however, a particularlyintelligent and resourceful fish could be found, who had studied a gooddeal of biochemistry and physiology, was a master engineer andcyberneticist, and had excellent lab facilities available to him, this fishcould

Repritiled fro m ASTRONAUTICS, Scptember, 1960)

29/

One of the first Cyborgs, this 220-gm rathas under its skin the Rose osmotic pump (shownin close-up below), designed to permit continuousinjections of chemicals at a slow controlled rateinto an organism withOUt any attention on thepart of the organism.

conceivably have the ability to design an instrumentwhich would allow him to live on land and breatheair quite readily.

In the same manner, it is becoming apparentthat we will in the not too distant future havesufficient knowledge to design instrumental control-systems which will make it Possible for our bodiesto do things which are no less difficult.

The environment with which man is nowconcerned is that of space. Biologically, what are thechanges necessary to allow man to live adequately inthe space environment? Artificial atmospheresencapsulated in some sort of enclosure constitute

only temporizing, and dangerous temporizing at that,since we place ourselves in the same Position as afish/30

taking a small quantity of water along with him tolive on land. The bubble all too easily bursts.

The biological problems which exist inspace travel are many and varied. Long-term spacevoyages, involving flights not of days, months oryears, but Possibly of several thousand years, willeventually be hard realities, and resultantphysiological and psychological conditions must beconsidered.

These are reviewed below. In some cases,we have proposed solutions which probably could bedevised with presently available knowledge andtechniques. Other Solutions are projections into thefuture which by their very nature must resemblescience fiction. To illustrate, there may be much moreefficient ways of carrying out the functions of therespiratory system than by breathing, which becomescumbersome in space. One proposed solution for thenot too distant future is relatively simple: Don'tbreathe!

If man attempts partial adaptation to spaceconditions, instead of insisting on carrying his wholeenvironment along with him, a number of newpossibilities appear. One is then led to think about theincorporation of integral exogenous devices to bringabout the biological changes which might benecessary in man's homeostatic mechanisms to allowhim to live in space qua natura.

The autonomic nervous system andendocrine glands cooperate in man to maintain themultiple balances required for his existence. They dothis without conscious control, although they areamenable to such influence. Necessary readjustmentsof these automatic responses under extraterrestrialconditions require the aid of control theory, as well asextensive physiological knowledge.

Cyborg-Frees Man to Explore

What are some of the devices necessary forcreating self-regulating manmachine systems? Thisself-regulation must function without the benefit ofconsciousness in order to cooperate with the body'sown autonomous homeostatic controls. For theexogenously extended organizational

CLYNES & KLINEcomplex functioning as an inte-grated homeostatic system un-consciously, we propose the term"Cyborg." The Cyborg deliberatelyincorporates exoge-nous componentsextending the self-regulatory controlfunction of the organism in order toadapt it to new environments.

If man in space, in addition toflying his vehicle, must con-tinuouslybe checking on things and makingadjustments merely in order to keephimself alive, he becomes a slave tothe ma-chine. The purpose of the Cy-borg, as well as his own ho-meostaticsystems, is to provi-de anorganizational sys-tem in which suchrobot-like problems are taken care ofautomatically and unconsciously,leaving man free to explore, tocreate, to think, and to feel.

One device helpful to con-sideration of the construction ofCyborgs, which is already a-vailable,is the ingenious osmo-tic pressurepump capsule de-veloped by S. Rosefor conti-nuous slow injections ofbio-chemically active substances at abiological rate. The capsule isincorporated into the organism andallows administration of a selecteddrug at a particular or-gan and at acontinuous vari-able rate, withoutany attention on the part of theorganism.

Capsules are already avail-ablewhich will deliver as little as 0.01ml/day for 200 days, and there is noreason why this time could not beextended con-siderably. Theapparatus has al-ready been used onrabbits and rats, and for continuoushepa-rin injection in man. No un-toward general effect on health wasnoted when the injector was buried inanimals. As long as five years ago,an injector 7 cm long and 1.4 cm indiame-ter, weighing 15 gm, was suc-cessfully buried under the skin of ratsweighing 150-250 gin. The photo onPage 27 shows a rat weighing 220gm with an injector in situ.

The combination of an osmoticpressure pump capsule with sensingand controlling mechanisms can forma con-tinuous control loop which willact as an adjunct to the body's ownautonomous controls. In this manner,these controls can be changed to thedesired per-formance characteristicsunder various environmental condi-tions. If these characteristics weredetermined, such a sys-tem would bepossible today with the selection ofappro-priate drugs.

For example, systolic bloodpressure may be sensed, com-paredto a reference value based on thespace conditions en-countered, andregulated by letting the differencebetween sensed and referencepressures control administration ofan adrenergic or vasodilator drug. Ofcourse, any such system presupposesthat we would be cognizant of whatoptimum blood pressure would beunder various space conditions.

While it is quite difficult to setup per limits to "natural" humanphysiological and psy-chologicalperformance, we can take as minimalthe capabilities demonstrated undercontrol conditions such as yoga orhypnosis. The imagination isstretched by the muscular con-trol ofwhich even the under-graduate at aYoga College is capable, andhypnosis per se may prove to have adefinite place in space travel,although there is much to be learnedabout the phenomena of dis-sociation, generalization of ins-tructions, and abdication of executivecontrol.

We are now working on a newpreparation which may greatlyenhance hypnotizability, so thatpharmacological and hypnoticapproaches may be symbioticallycombined.

Psycho-PhysiologicalProblems

Let us now turn our attention tosome of the special physiological andpsychologi-cal problems involved inspace travel, and see how Cyborg dy-namics may help achieve betterunderstanding and utilization ofman's natural abilities.

Wakefulness. For flights ofrelatively short or moderate du-ration-a few weeks or even a fewmonths-it would appear desirable tokeep the astronaut continuouslyawake and fully alert. The extensionof normal functioning through theuse of that group of drugs known aspsychic energizers, with ad-junctivemedication, for this purpose is apresent-day real-ity. In flights lastinga month or two, no more than a fewhours a day of sleep would be requir-ed in the normal environment if suchdrugs were employed. Tests indicateefficiency tends to increase, ratherthan decrea-se, under such a regime,and extended usage appears entirelyfeasible.

Radiation Effects. One sub-system of the Cyborg would involvea sensor to detect radia-tion levelsand an adaptation of the Roseosmotic pump which wouldautomatically inject pro-tectivepharmaceuticals in ap-propriatedoses. Experiments at the AF Schoolof Aviation Me-dicine alreadyindicate an in-crease in radiationresistance re-sulting from combinedadmi-nistration of aminoethylisothio-roninm and cysteine to mon-keys. Metabolic Problems and Hy-pothermic Controls. In the case ofprolonged space flight, the estimatedconsumption of 10 lb a day forhuman fuel-2 lb of oxygen, 4 lb offluid, and 4 lb of food-poses a majorpro-blem. During a flight of a year orlonger, assuming that the ve-hiclewas operating satisfactori-ly, therewould be little or no rea

31/CYBORGS & SPACEson for the astronaut to be awake forlong periods unless some emergencyarose. Hypo-thermia (reduc-tion ofbody temperature) would appear tobe a desir-able state in such longvoya-ges in order to reduce me-tabolism, and thus human "fuel"consumption. The use of exter-nalcooling, reduc-tion of thetemperature of the blood in anarterio-venous shunt, and hiber-nation (through pituitary con-trol),alone or in combination withpharmaceuticals, all seem to offerpossibilities in attempting to obtainand maintain such a state. Con-trol ofthe tempera-ture by influencing theheat-re-gulating center would bemore desirable than changing the re-ference level.

Oxygenization and CarbonDioxide Removal. Breathing in spaceis a pro-blem because the spaceenvironment will not provide thenecessary oxygen, and respirationeliminates need-ed carbon dioxideand involves heat and water losses.An inverse fuel cell, capable ofreducing C02 to its components withremoval of the carbon and recir-culation of the oxygen, wouldeliminate the necessity for lungbreathing. Such a sys-tem, ope-ratingeither on solar or nuclear energy,would replace the lung, makingbreathing, as we know it,unnecessary. Conventional brea-thingwould still be possible, should theenvironment permit it, discontinuingthe fuel-cell operation.

Fluid Intake and Out-put. Fluidbalance in the astronaut could belargely maintained via a shunt fromthe ureters to the venous circulationafter removal or conversion ofnoxious subs-tances. Sterilization ofthe gas-trointestinal tract, plus intra-venous or direct intragastric feeding,could redu-ce fecal eli-mination to aminimum, and even this might bereutilized.

Enzyme Systems. Underconditions of lowered body tem-

perature, certain enzyme systemswould tend to remain more activethan others. The extent to whichpharmaceutical or chemical agentscould influ-ence this enzyme activityhas not been systematically inves-tigated, but beyond question they willplay an important role. Sincemetabolism is subject to enzymecontrol, several intri-guingpossibilities exist. For example, itmay be possible through in vitroradiation to convert certainorganisms from aerobic to anaerobicstates and, by studying changes in theenzyme systems, to adapt them foreventual human use. In the samemanner, selected atmos-pheres ofother types could be investigated.

Vestibular Function. Diso-rientation or discomfort resulti-ngfrom disturbed vestibular functiondue to weightlessness might behandled through the use of drugs, bytemporarily draining off theendolymphatic fluid or, alternately,filling the cavities completely, andother techniques involving chemicalcontrol. Hypnosis may also be usefulfor controlling vestibular function.

Cardiovascular Control Theapplication of control-system theoryto biology has already yieldedsufficiently fruitful re-sults in studiesof the multiple homeostatic functionsof the cardiovascular system to indi-cate the possibility of altering thesystem by the Cyborg tech-nique.Administration of pres-entlyavailable drugs, such as epinephrine,reserpine, digitalis, amphetamine,etc., by means of Rose injectors,offers one possi-bility of changingthe cardio-vascular functions so as tofit them for a particular environ-ment. Alteration of the specifichomeostatic references within oroutside the brain, and electricstimulation, either as a means ofregulating heart rate or affectingselected brain centers in order tocontrol cardio-vascular func-tioning,are other possibilities.

Muscular Maintenance.Prolonged sleep or limited acti,. ityhas a deleterious effect on muscletone. While reduction of bodytemperature and metabo. lism mayreduce the magnitude of the problem,further investi-gation of the chemicalreasons for atrophy appearsnecessary to develop adequatepharmaceuti. cal protection to helpmaintain muscle tone on prolongedspace voyages.

Perceptual Problems. Lack ofatmosphere will create markedlydifferent conditions of visualperception than those with which weare familiar. Attention should begiven to providing a medium whichwould recreate some of thedistortions to which we areaccustomed, and to which theastronaut could become acclimatedbefore takeoff. Part of the problemwould come from searching for anadequate frame of reference, and inthis regard the factors which in-fluence autokinesis (and illusorymovement) may have an in-fluenceon space perception problems.Investigation of whe-therpharmaceuticals would in-fluenceautokinesis is therefore desirable.

Pressure. Under pressure lowerthan 60 min Hg, man' s blood beginsto boil at his normal bodytemperature. Therefore, if he is toventure out of his space vehiclewithout a pressure suit, some meansmust be found of reducing his nor-mal operating temperature to a pointwhere the vapor pressure of his fluidsis no greater than the internal tissuepressures. This is another reason whylowering of body temperature isessential to avoid the use ofconstricting pressure suits.

Variations in ExternalTemperature. While man will requirethe protection of a space ship orstation at the real extremes oftemperature, there

LYNES & KLINE

are also likely to be intermediateconditions within or close to thelimits of human tolerance. Bycontrolling reflection and absorptionby means of pro-tective plasticsponge clothing plus chemicalsalready in exis-tence which producechanges in pigmentation and provideeffective protection against acti-nicrays, it should be possible tomaintain desired body tem-perature.Needed is a light-sen-sitive,chemically regu-lated system whichwould adjust to its own reflectanceso as to main-tain the temperaturedesired.

Gravitation. A change in theratio of gravity and inertia forces tomolecular forces will alter mobilitypatterns, among other things. Bodytemperature control and other uses ofpharmaceuticals could possiblyimprove functioning underconditions of greater or lessergravitation than that on earth.

Magnetic Fields. Chemicals andtemperature alteration might also actto retard or facili-tate the specificeffects of magnetic fields in space.

Sensory Inuariance and ActionDeprivation. Instead of sensorydeprivation, it is sensory invariance,or lack of change in sensory stimuli,which may be the astronaut'sbugaboo. In most of the sensorydeprivation expe-riments to date, ithas been sensory invariance whichhas produced discomfort and, inextreme circumstances, led to theoccurrence of psychotic- like states.Of even greater sig-nificance may beaction in-variance, deprivation orlimita-tion, since in many such expe-riments subjects have mentioned a

"desire for action." The structuring ofsituations so that action has ameaningful sensory feedback shouldreduce these difficulties. Here againdrugs could play a useful role inreducing resultant tensions. Actionwithout demonstration that suchbehavior is purposeful or sensorystimuli without op-portunity forappropriate response are both highlydisturbing.

Psychoses. Despite all the careexercised, there remains a strongpossibility that some-where in thecourse of a long space voyage apsychotic episode might occur, andthis is one condition for which noser-vomechanism can be completelydesigned at the present time. Whilean emergency osmotic pumpcontaining one of the high-potencyphenothiazines to-gether withreserpine could be a part of thecomplete space man's kit, thefrequent denial by an individualundergoing a psy-chotic episode thathis thought processes, emotions, orbehavior are abnormal, might keephim from voluntarily accepting me-dication. For this reason, ifmonitoring is adequate, provi-sionshould be made for trigger-ingadministration of the medi-cationremotely from earth or by acompanion if there is a crew on thevehicle.

Limbo. The contingency ofpossible extreme pain or suf-fering asa result of unforeseen accidents mustalso be con-sidered. The astronautshould therefore be able to elect astate of unconsciousness if he feels itto be necessary. Prolonged sleepinduced either pharmacologi-cally or

electronically seems the bestsolution.Other Problems

There obviously exists anequally large number of medicalproblems amenable topharmacological influence whi-chhave not been discussed here for lackof space. Among these are suchconditions as nausea, vertigo, motionsickness, erotic requirements,vibration toleran-ce, etc.

However, those selected fordiscussion offer an indication as towhat the Cyborg can mean in termsof space travel. Although some of theproposed solutionsmay appear fanciful, it should benoted that there are references in theSoviet techni-cal literature toresearch in many of these same areas.Thus we find the Russians proposingprior oxygen saturation as a so-lutionto the problem of respiration duringthe first few minutes after spacevehicle laun-chings; reporting onalterations of the vestibular functionboth by drugs and surgery; studyingperception and carrying out re-searchon the laws of eye mo-tion in vision;finding that lo-wering of temperaturecan aid in solving pressure problems;etc.

Solving the many tech-nological problems involved inmanned space flight by adapt-ingman to his environment, rather thanvice versa, will not only mark asignificant step forward in man'sscientific progress, but may wellprovide a new and larger dimensionfor man's spirit as well.

33/