Cognition Test Battery Performance Is Associated with Simulated 6df Spacecraft Docking Performance

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Environmental and operational stressors commonly encountered in spaceflight can affect astronaut cognitive performance. It is currently unclear how performance decrements on test batteries that assess individual cognitive domains translate to complex operational performance.METHODS: N 30 healthy adults (mean SD age 33.5 7.1 yr, range 2548 yr; 16 men) with demographic characteristics similar to astronauts performed all 10 tests of the Cognition test battery as well as a simulated 6 degrees-of-freedom (6df) spacecraft docking task 15 times. Performance on 60 Cognition outcome variables was rank-correlated with 6df docking performance individually as well as in models containing up to 12 predictors after accounting for sex, age, and study design effects.RESULTS: Average response time on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST)a measure of processing speed requiring complex scanning, visual tracking, and working memorywas the best individual predictor of 6df docking performance (unadjusted r 0.550; semipartial cross-validated R2 0.244). Furthermore, higher levels of spatial orientation efficiency and vigilant attention, lower levels of impulsivity, and faster response speed were associated with higher 6df performance, while sensorimotor speed, memory, and risk decision making were less relevant. After semipartial cross-validation, a model with three Cognition outcomes (DSST average response time, Abstract Matching accuracy, and conservative response bias on the Fractal 2-Back test) explained 30% of the variance in 6df performance.CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates direct links between performance on tests designed to assess specific cognitive domains and complex operational docking performance.Basner M, Moore TM, Hermosillo E, Nasrini J, Dinges DF, Gur RC, Johannes B. Cognition test battery performance is associated with simulated 6df spacecraft docking performance. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(11):861867.

Brain potential responses involved in decision-making in weightlessness

“…Additionally, the source analysis estimated that the involvement of the frontopolar BA10 characterized the P300 in weightlessness, while in the Earth conditions (before and after the space stay), the involved structures were the left cerebellum and the left extrastriate cortex. Because the visuomotor docking simulation is a very familiar task for astronauts 19 , it seems reasonable to admit a pre-existent link between the execution of a good docking and rewarding on one hand and, on the other hand, the execution of bad docking and serious risk or cost. It is known that the P300 amplitude is sensitive to motivational outcomes and that a larger P300 amplitude accompanies emotionally valent stimuli, compared to neutral stimuli 28 , 29 .…”

“…Interestingly, it has been shown that the performance on a visuomotor-tracking task simulating dockings on the ISS, a task very familiar to astronauts 18 is directly associated to the cognitive performance evaluated by a battery of tests 19 . In the present study, we examined five astronauts’ brain function through their electrical EEG brain potential responses related to their decision-making processes during the execution of a docking task in the same virtual scenario on Earth and in Weightlessness.…”

Continuous and Intermittent Artificial Gravity as a Countermeasure to the Cognitive Effects of 60 Days of Head-Down Tilt Bed Rest

“…A recent study investigating associations between Cognition performance and complex 6° of freedom docking performance found that speed on AM, LOT, and especially DSST were associated with high docking performance ( Basner et al, 2020b ). While point estimates indicate an HDBR-induced response slowing on all three tests, effect sizes were small and did not differ significantly from baseline, suggesting that the observed changes may have had limited impact on operationally relevant performance.…”

Future research directions to identify risks and mitigation strategies for neurostructural, ocular, and behavioral changes induced by human spaceflight: A NASA-ESA expert group consensus report

“…Computerized tests typically administered in spaceflight usually assess either basic cognitive functions (e.g., memory, abstraction) or operationally relevant performance (e.g., docking simulators). While performance on basic cognitive and operational tasks are related ( Basner et al, 2020b ), it is nevertheless important to capture spaceflight-induced deficits separately for both types of task. Cognitive performance has been a focus of many spaceflight investigations; however, each investigator tends to use specific and non-standardized instruments which prevents pooling data across studies and astronauts and systematic meta-analyses ( Strangman et al, 2014 ).…”