Spaceflight alters reaction time and duration judgment of astronauts

We report a study on astronauts aimed at characterizing duration judgment before, during, and after long-duration stays on board the International Space Station. Ten astronauts and a control group of 15 healthy (non-astronaut) participants performed a duration reproduction task and a duration produc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in physiology 2023-03, Vol.14, p.1141078
Main Authors: Kuldavletova, Olga, Navarro Morales, Deborah C, Quarck, Gaëlle, Denise, Pierre, Clément, Gilles
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive science
duration judgment
internal clock
Life Sciences
memory
Physiology
spaceflight
time perception
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Summary:We report a study on astronauts aimed at characterizing duration judgment before, during, and after long-duration stays on board the International Space Station. Ten astronauts and a control group of 15 healthy (non-astronaut) participants performed a duration reproduction task and a duration production task using a visual target duration ranging from 2 to 38 s. Participants also performed a reaction time test for assessing attention. Compared to control participants and preflight responses, the astronauts' reaction time increased during spaceflight. Also, during spaceflight, time intervals were under-produced while counting aloud and under-reproduced when there was a concurrent reading task. We hypothesize that time perception during spaceflight is altered by two mechanisms: (a) an acceleration of the internal clock through the changes in vestibular inputs in microgravity, and (b) difficulties in attention and working memory when a concurrent reading task is present. Prolonged isolation in confined areas, weightlessness, stress related to workload, and high-performance expectations could account for these cognitive impairments.
ISSN:1664-042X
1664-042X
DOI:10.3389/fphys.2023.1141078