'Participants regularly completed 10 cognitive tests relevant to spaceflight that were specifically designed for astronauts, such as spatial orientation, memory, risk taking and emotion recognition,' explains Basner. Participants for this research were kept in that position for nearly 2 months, and this is one of the first studies to strictly enforce the tilted head position. Head-down bed rest at a slight 6-degree angle is the standard way of simulating the effects of microgravity on Earth. Previous studies have shown microgravity causes structural changes in the brain, but it's not fully understood how this translates to changes in behavior. Our findings suggest that their ability to do this may be impaired over time.' 'The astronauts' ability to correctly 'read' each other's emotional expressions will be of paramount importance for effective teamwork and mission success. 'Astronauts on long space missions, very much like our research participants, will spend extended durations in microgravity, confined to a small space with few other astronauts,' reports Mathias Basner, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. In testing, research participants were more likely to identify facial expressions as angry and less likely as happy or neutral.

While cognitive speed on most tests initially declined but then remained unchanged over time in simulated microgravity, emotion recognition speed continued to worsen. Newswise - Living for nearly 2 months in simulated weightlessness has a modest but widespread negative effect on cognitive performance that may not be counteracted by short periods of artificial gravity, finds a new study published in Frontiers in Physiology.

Rough Trade by Sidney Bell