Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Pointing at memorized targets during prolonged microgravity

D G Watt1

  • 1Aerospace Medical Research Unit, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
|February 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

30-Day and 1-year mortality in emergency general surgery laparotomies: an area of concern and need for improvement?

European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society·2015
Same author

A national survey of attitudes to research in Scottish General Surgery Trainees.

Scottish medical journal·2014
Same author

Massive mesenteric and portal venous thrombosis secondary to hormone replacement therapy.

Scottish medical journal·2013
Same author

Groove pancreatitis: a case series and review of the literature.

Scottish medical journal·2013
Same author

Mesenteric lipoma causing small bowel perforation: a case report and review of literature.

Scottish medical journal·2012
Same author

The KITS scheme.

British dental journal·2007
Same journal

Goodbye to ASEM.

Aviation, space, and environmental medicine·2014
Same journal

AsMA - a worldwide organization.

Aviation, space, and environmental medicine·2014
Same journal

This month in aerospace medicine history.

Aviation, space, and environmental medicine·2014
Same journal

You're the flight surgeon: hypogonadism.

Aviation, space, and environmental medicine·2014
Same journal

You're the flight surgeon: fatigue.

Aviation, space, and environmental medicine·2014
Same journal

Manned-unmanned teaming: expanding the envelope of UAS operational employment.

Aviation, space, and environmental medicine·2014
See all related articles

Astronauts experience significant pointing errors in microgravity due to poor target location memory, not limb position uncertainty. This study clarifies the main cause of these sensorimotor adaptation challenges during spaceflight.

Area of Science:

  • Spaceflight physiology
  • Human sensorimotor adaptation
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Previous research indicated pointing inaccuracies in microgravity without vision.
  • Distinguishing between limb and target location uncertainty was not previously achieved.
  • This study aimed to isolate the source of pointing errors in microgravity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the relative contribution of target location uncertainty versus limb position uncertainty to pointing errors in microgravity.
  • To test the hypothesis that continuous visual absence during pointing tasks exacerbates errors more than intermittent visual absence.

Main Methods:

  • Five subjects performed pointing tasks in microgravity on Spacelab SLS-2.
  • Tasks included continuous eye closure, continuous eye closure with body part touching, and intermittent eye closure during pointing.
Keywords:
NASA Discipline NeuroscienceNASA Discipline Number 00-00NASA Discipline Number 16-10NASA Program FlightNASA Program Space Physiology and CountermeasuresNon-NASA Center

Related Experiment Videos

  • Arm position estimation was also assessed with eyes closed.

    • Main Results:

    • Pointing errors increased significantly in space compared to ground controls when vision was intermittently absent (7.0 vs 4.5 degrees).
    • When vision was continuously absent, additional errors in space were significantly larger than on the ground (10.5 vs 4.0 degrees).
    • The difference in error increase between intermittent and continuous visual absence was greater in space.

    Conclusions:

    • The primary source of pointing errors in microgravity is uncertainty in target location, not limb position.
    • Sensorimotor adaptation to microgravity significantly impacts spatial awareness and motor control.
    • Understanding these deficits is crucial for astronaut performance and safety in space missions.