Human sensorimotor coordination during spaceflight: an analysis of pointing and tracking responses during the "Neurolab" Space Shuttle mission

It has been shown that pointing movements are slowed during microgravity, however there is a paucity of corresponding data for other movement types. In our study, subjects pointed at visual targets without seeing their hand, and tracked targets moving around a circular path with and without hand vis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAviation, space, and environmental medicine Vol. 72; no. 10; p. 877
Main Authors Bock, O, Fowler, B, Comfort, D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.10.2001
Subjects
Adult
Female
Humans
Male
Motor Skills - physiology
Reaction Time
Space Flight
Task Performance and Analysis
Weightlessness
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Summary:It has been shown that pointing movements are slowed during microgravity, however there is a paucity of corresponding data for other movement types. In our study, subjects pointed at visual targets without seeing their hand, and tracked targets moving around a circular path with and without hand vision, with and without a secondary reaction-time task. Pointing responses were slowed distinctly in microgravity, but the speed of tracking movements was not affected. The secondary task had comparable effects on tracking performance in space and on Earth. Response slowing in space is not due to an increased dependence on visual feedback, since it persists without hand vision. Differential effects of microgravity on pointing and tracking could be due to subjects' strategic decisions.
ISSN:0095-6562