The 14 science adventurers will stay 40 days inside the Lombrives cave. – Vincent Guinot / Deep Time
- For 40 days, from March 14, 14 people will confine themselves in the cave of Lombrives, in Ariège, without any time reference.
- The experiment, initiated by explorer-researcher Christian Clot, will be monitored by around thirty scientists, who will monitor in particular how the brain adapts to such a situation.
–
Fourteen people cut off from the world, for 40 days. No natural light, no smartphone or watch. Out of time. Here is the “Deep Time” experience, which will begin on March 14 at 8 p.m. in the Lombrives cave, in Ussat-les-Bains in Ariège. The expedition, watched from the open air by around thirty scientists, will be led by Franco-Swiss explorer-researcher Christian Clot, head of the Human Adaptation Institute.
“The objective is to answer questions about the confinement that we have all experienced,” explains Stéphane Besnard, specialist in neurophysiology at the CHU de Caen, who will coordinate the various studies. Humans are shaped by three parameters: Earth’s gravity, oxygen and light. We are going to remove natural light, but also any temporal markers and reduce social interactions to a group. It is very severe confinement. “
Lombrives, the ideal place
The six women and eight men, aged 29 to 50 years old and in good physical and mental condition, will evolve in three spaces in the light of a frontal: a “sleeping area”, a “living area” and a “scientific area. “. For lack of notion of time, everyone will have to find their own rhythm to juggle between periods of activity and rest. The dimensions of Lombrives, which is billed as the “largest cave in Europe”, are particularly suitable for the operation.
“This allows real isolation, especially since it takes an hour’s walk to get to the site,” continues Stéphane Besnard. Lombrives presents different rooms, to practice experiments or physical activities. And evacuation is easy. However, except medical problem, these adventurers of science will have no contact with the outside during an experience unique in the world by the number of its participants and the wealth of technological equipment used.
Study of the body (biological rhythm, sleep…), analysis of the brain (ability to make decisions, to orient oneself), measurement of emotions or interactions between individuals… Adventurers and scientists will not be idle during “Deep Time”, which must find applications in long space expeditions, life in hostile environments (polar expeditions for example) or even confined missions, in submarines in particular.
Applications to fight Alzheimer’s
“It’s a real technological challenge,” says Stéphane Besnard. We will also develop software that can be quickly applied to the medical community. For example, the first signs of dementia like Alzheimer’s are a loss of reference points of time and their space that we detect too late … “The 14 team members will leave Lombrives transformed on April 22, with a completely upset notion of time. . Hoping that they don’t leave their cave for a new containment, in the open air this time.
