Effect of artificial gravity on neurocognitive performance during head-down tilt bedrest

• Published in: NPJ microgravity Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 59 - 14
• Main Authors: Tölgyesi, Borbála, Altbäcker, Anna, Barkaszi, Irén, Stuckenschneider, Tim, Braunsmann, Leonard, Takács, Endre, Ehmann, Bea, Balázs, László, Abeln, Vera
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 05-06-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/378; 692/499; Applied Microbiology; Astronauts; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Brain research; Chronic effects; Classical and Continuum Physics; Cognition; Cognitive ability; Event-related potentials; Immunology; Life Sciences; Physiology; Reaction time task; Sensory integration; Space Exploration and Astronautics; Space flight; Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics; Visual evoked potentials
• ISSN: 2373-8065; 2373-8065
• DOI: 10.1038/s41526-024-00405-4

This study evaluated the acute and chronic effects of intermittent and continuous Artificial Gravity (AG) on cognitive performance during 60 days of Head-down tilt bedrest (HDTBR), a well-established ground-based spaceflight analogue method. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: intermittent AG, continuous AG, and HDTBR control group without AG exposure. Task performance and electrophysiological measures of attention and working memory were investigated during Simple and Complex tasks in the Visual and the Auditory modality. Compared to baseline, faster reaction time and better accuracy was present during HDTBR regarding the Complex tasks, however, the practice effect was diminished in the three HDTBR groups compared to an ambulatory control group. Brain potentials showed a modality-specific decrease, as P3a was decreased only in the Auditory, while P3b decreased in the Visual modality. No evidence for acute or chronic AG-related cognitive impairments during HDTBR was found.