Astronauts Show Cognitive Resilience During Space Missions
Astronauts maintain cognitive stability during six-month ISS missions, despite stressors like altered gravity.
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Space exploration places significant demands on the human body, with astronauts encountering factors like radiation, altered gravity and limited sleep that could impact cognitive functioning. While these conditions might be expected to impair performance, new research involving 25 astronauts who spent an average of 6 months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has provided a detailed analysis of their cognitive abilities. The findings, published in Frontiers in Physiology, represent the largest dataset of its kind from professional astronauts and reveal stability in cognitive performance despite the stresses of spaceflight.
“We show that there is no evidence of any significant cognitive impairment or neurodegenerative decline in astronauts spending six months on the ISS,”
Dr. Sheena Dev
Testing cognitive domains across mission phases
Astronauts were assessed through 10 subtests that measured cognitive domains including processing speed, working memory and attention. These tests were conducted at 5 key points: before the mission, early and late in-flight and at 10 and 30 days post-mission. While processing speeds slowed in space, accuracy was not compromised. Notably, the decline in attention was short-lived, appearing only during the early mission phase, while reduced processing speeds persisted until astronauts had returned to Earth.
Processing speed
Processing speed refers to the time it takes an individual to perceive, process, and respond to information. It is crucial for tasks requiring quick decision-making.
Working memory
Working memory is a cognitive system that temporarily holds and manipulates information for tasks such as reasoning, comprehension, and learning.
Stability under stress
The research showed that astronauts’ central nervous systems were not significantly damaged during their six-month missions, with overall cognitive performance remaining stable. These results align with findings in stressful conditions on Earth, where domains like attention and working memory are more susceptible to temporary declines than others, such as long-term memory.
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Subscribe for FREEImplications for future space exploration
While this study highlights resilience in cognitive performance, it does not address the underlying causes of observed changes or their potential operational impacts. As astronauts begin exploring beyond low Earth orbit, such as missions to Mars, this baseline dataset could help detect and mitigate cognitive effects of deeper space missions, where factors like increased radiation exposure and communication delays become critical.
Reference: Dev S, Khader AM, Begerowski SR, Anderson S, Clément G, Bell ST. Cognitive performance in ISS astronauts on 6-month low Earth orbit missions. Front Physiol. 2024. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1451269
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