[imagesource:freepik]

Scientists took a deep dive into the minds of astronauts who spent six months aboard the International Space Station—and the findings are equal parts fascinating and a touch unsettling.

In a paper published in Frontiers, NASA’s Behavioral Health and Performance Lab, led by researcher Sheena Dev, uncovered a cosmic twist: the astronauts’ brains seemed to bounce back just fine once their boots hit Earth’s soil. No alarming cognitive hiccups were detected post-mission.

But here’s the kicker: tests revealed that while floating in the zero-G playground of Low Earth Orbit, their mental gears didn’t exactly spin at full throttle.

Processing speed, visual memory, sustained attention, and even their willingness to take risks all showed signs of slowing down, making space a bit of a “meh” zone for some high-performing brainpower.

The silver lining? It’s not permanent. So while space might temporarily turn your brain into a buffering YouTube video, Earth appears to reboot it just fine.

“We show that there is no evidence of any significant cognitive impairment or neurodegenerative decline in astronauts spending six months on the ISS,” said Dev in a statement.

“Living and working in space was not associated with widespread cognitive impairment that would be suggestive of significant brain damage.”

Still, the cosmos clearly has a way of keeping astronauts humble.

A total of 25 professional astronauts bravely signed up to have their brains poked and prodded (metaphorically, of course) with a battery of tests before, during, and after their six-month stints aboard the space station.

The goal was to see how quickly and accurately they could think while cruising around Earth at 28,000 km/h. The results were intriguing: their brains still got the answers right, but their processing speed, working memory, and attention all took a leisurely stroll rather than their usual Earth-bound sprint. It turns out that zero gravity might just make your brain a little floaty.

“Slowed performance on attention, for example, was only observed early during the mission while slowed performance on processing speed did not return to baseline levels until after the mission ended and crew were back on Earth,” Dev noted in her statement.

The effects of stress were not ruled out in the research, as it can lead to a similar temporary slowing in cognitive abilities back on Earth.

“Other domains, such as memory, are less vulnerable to stressors,” Dev noted. “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.”

In short, “the most vulnerable domains while astronauts are aboard the ISS are the same as those that are more susceptible to stressors on Earth,” the scientist added.

[source:futurism]