Cognitive Performance in Space and Analogous Environments

Casler, James; Cook, J.R.

doi:10.1207/s15327566ijce0304_5

Cited by 34 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The data of task R led us conclude that in the depth of 1 m, simple cognitive capabilities were not impaired by the pure eVects of water immersion (Xuid shifts and pressure changes). These patterns of Wndings are comparable to weightlessness conditions: Previous studies showed also that simple cognitive performance tasks are not impaired by weightlessness itself (Casler and Cook 1998;Manzey and Lorenz 1998).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Production of finely graded forces in humans: effects of simulated weightlessness by water immersion

Dalecki

Dräger²,

Mierau

et al. 2012

Exp Brain Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We have shown before that subjects exposed to a changed gravitoinertial environment produce exaggerated manual forces. From the observed pattern of findings, we argued that initial forces were exaggerated because of abnormal vestibular activity and peak forces because of degraded proprioceptive feedback. If so, only peak but not initial forces should be affected by water immersion, an environment that influences proprioceptive feedback but not vestibular activity. The present study was undertaken to scrutinize this prediction. Twelve subjects sat in a chair once immersed in water and once on dry land, while producing pre-trained isometric forces with a joystick. In a control experiment, subjects performed a four-choice reaction-time task. During the joystick task, produced initial forces were comparable in water and on land, while peak (+24%) and end forces (+22%) were significantly higher in water, as was their reaction time (+6%). During the control task, reaction time was comparable in water and on land. Our findings corroborate the above notion that initial forces increase when the vestibular system is stimulated (gravitoinertial change, visual field motion, but not water immersion), while peak forces increase when proprioceptive feedback is degraded (probably all three scenarios) and are not corrected until response end. Our findings further confirm the absence of cognitive slowing in simple-choice reaction tasks under shallow-water immersion conditions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Production of finely graded forces in humans: effects of simulated weightlessness by water immersion

Dalecki

Dräger²,

Mierau

et al. 2012

Exp Brain Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In most cases performance in cognitive tasks was not, or only slightly, impaired during exposure to microgravity with the exception of dual-tasks (for a review see [5,10,18,38]). Only studies performed in or after expo-sure to microgravity were discussed in this review, and we did not include any ground-based simulation studies such as bed-rest studies.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This concerns also a more generic group of space travelers as opposed to carefully selected and highly trained astronauts. Cognitive performance can be impaired in microgravity, due to various factors such as stress, high workload, lack of sleep and physiological changes [5,18,29]. In this review we focus on the effects caused by the absence of the GIF (gravito-inertial force), which is no longer perceived as a sensory input.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of microgravity on cognition: The case of mental imagery

Grabherr

Mast

2010

VES

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human cognitive performance is an important factor for the successful and safe outcome of commercial and noncommercial manned space missions. This article aims to provide a systematic review of studies investigating the effects of microgravity on the cognitive abilities of parabolic or space flight participants due to the absence of the gravito-inertial force. We will focus on mental imagery: one of the best studied cognitive functions. Mental imagery is closely connected to perception and motor behavior. It aids important processes such as perceptual anticipation, problem solving and motor simulation, all of which are critical for space travel. Thirteen studies were identified and classified into the following topics: spatial representations, mental image transformations and motor imagery. While research on spatial representation and mental image transformation continues to grow and specific differences in cognitive functioning between 1 g and 0 g have been observed, motor imagery has thus far received little attention.

show abstract

“…The effect of microgravity on spatial cognition is a long standing question in space neuroscience [4,[45][46][47] . Not only does this question matter for operational purposes, it is also key for understanding the role of gravity in fundamental cognitive processes such as mental imagery [6,48] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Twelve participants (all males, aged [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] took part in the study. All participants had normal or corrected-to-normal vision and reported no history of vestibular dysfunction.…”

Section: Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective facilitation of egocentric mental transformations under short-term microgravity

Meirhaeghe

Bayet

Paubel

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Author contributionsC.M. and N.M. conceived the project. N.M. collected pilot data and performed preliminary analyses used to refine the task design. P-V.P. and N.M. adapted the experiment to virtual reality. P-V.P. and C.M. handled technical aspects of the parabolic flights. All authors took part in the parabolic flights and contributed equally to data collection. P-V.P. and N.M. processed the parabolic flight data. N.M., V.B., and C.M. performed the statistical analyses. All authors were involved in interpreting the results. N.M. and C.M. wrote the manuscript. ABSTRACTUnderstanding the impact of microgravity on human cognitive performance is crucial to guarantee the safety and success of future long-term manned missions. The effects of weightlessness on key mental processes such as spatial abilities are in particular not fully characterized. In this study, we examine the influence of microgravity on perspective-taking abilities--a type of mental operation especially relevant in the context of collaborative teamwork between 'free-floating' astronauts. Twelve subjects performed a cooperative task in virtual-reality under both normal and short-term microgravity conditions during a parabolic flight. The task involved various degrees of mental transformations, and required subjects to perform actions instructed by a fellow astronaut aboard a virtual spacecraft. The experimental design allowed us to control for nuisance variables, training effects, and non-gravity related factors of parabolic flights. Overall, our results indicated that microgravity has a facilitatory effect on perspective-taking abilities. Notably, this facilitation was selective to conditions requiring subjects to rotate their perspective around their line of sight, i.e., for mental rotations in the frontal plane. Moreover, microgravity affected subjects differently depending on their visual field dependence, as determined via a classic rod-and-frame test. Specifically, improvement in performance was more pronounced in field-independent subjects. Together, these results shed light on a long standing debate about the impact of microgravity on egocentric mental imagery, and have direct operational consequences for future long-term missions.

show abstract

Cognitive Performance in Space and Analogous Environments

Cited by 34 publications

References 2 publications

Production of finely graded forces in humans: effects of simulated weightlessness by water immersion

Production of finely graded forces in humans: effects of simulated weightlessness by water immersion

Effects of microgravity on cognition: The case of mental imagery

Selective facilitation of egocentric mental transformations under short-term microgravity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About