The team gave astronauts 10 different ‘subtests’ to measure processing speed, working memory, and attention before their mission, twice while in space, and twice after landing.
They found that while on the International Space Station, astronauts took longer to perform the tasks, but they were no less accurate. While slower processing speeds did not return to normal levels 30 days after the astronauts returned to Earth, the researchers say brain performance was stable, and they did not find evidence that would suggest nervous system damage during the mission.
The results showed that some cognitive domains were more susceptible to be impacted than others. “Even on Earth, processing speed, working memory, and attention are cognitive domains that can show temporary changes when an individual is under stress. Other domains, such as memory, are less vulnerable to stressors. For example, if you happen to have a really busy day but couldn’t get much sleep the night before, you might feel like it’s hard to pay attention or that you need more time to complete tasks,” explained Doctor Sheena Dev of NASA’s Behavourial Health and Performance Laboratory.
Overall, astronauts’ cognitive performance was stable, and the researchers did not find evidence that would suggest damage to the central nervous system during a six-month space mission.
