How being in space affects astronauts’ memory and concentration, according to NASA study
Generally, Cosmonauts’ cognitive abilities were stable and the researchers found no evidence to suggest damage to the central nervous system during six-month space mission.
The results showed that some cognitive areas were more susceptible suffer than others. “Even on Earth, the processing speed Working memory and attention are cognitive domains that may show temporal changes. when a person is under stress. Other domains such as memoryless vulnerable to stressors. For example, if you have a busy day but didn’t get enough sleep the night before, you may feel like you’re having trouble concentrating or need more time to complete tasks,” explains Dev.
astronauts are also exposed to these stressorsbut additional stressors unique to a given setting also have an effect. “We found that the most vulnerable places during astronauts’ stay on board the ISS are the same places as more susceptible to stressors on Earth“, the authors comment.
The researchers note that their study may help them understand that changes in cognitive activity can be expected when people move into extreme conditions. However, the study did not show why these changes occurred, the researchers caution. It was also not proposed to assess whether the astronauts’ performance was affected. “Perhaps even in areas where there was a declinethe astronauts will still be able to compensate for this and perform their tasks efficiently,” explains Dev.
As soon as astronauts begin to travel deeper into space (e.g., the Moon or Mars), these low-Earth orbit data could also provide comparisons that could help more quickly detect cognitive changes caused by increased radiation exposure and delays long-term communication, the researchers concluded.
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