Floating in space can slow you down — not just physically, but mentally as well.
Scientists studied how 25 astronauts who lived an average of six month on the International Space Station (ISS) performed on a number of cognitive tests. The astronauts completed the activities slower, but no less accurately than they would have on Earth. And once back home, they could complete the same jobs as well, but faster, according to a report in Frontiers in Physiology.
“We show that there is no evidence of any significant cognitive impairment or neurodegenerative decline in astronauts spending six months on the ISS,” Sheena Dev, one of the study’s authors and a researcher at NASA’s Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory said in a press release. “Living and working in space was not associated with widespread cognitive impairment that would be suggestive of significant brain damage.”
