Using your head: Cognition and sensorimotor functions in microgravity

Gilles Clément (1)

1 CERCO - Centre de recherche cerveau et cognition

To be aware of the environment, one must sense or perceive that environment. The body senses the environment by the interaction of specialized sensory organs with some aspect or another of the environment. The central nervous system utilizes these sensations in order to coordinate and organize muscular movements, shift from uncomfortable positions, and adjust properly. One relevant question is “What is the relative contribution of gravity to these sensory and motor functions?” This manuscript reviews the effects of microgravity on the functioning of the sensory organs primarily used for balance and spatial orientation. Disorientation and malaise so frequently encountered during early exposure to microgravity and on return to Earth are described. Theories and actual data regarding the role of the central nervous system in the adaptation of sensorimotor functions (including the control of posture, eye movements, spatial orientation, and cognition) to changes in the gravito-inertial force level during space flight are explored.

Domaines: Neurosciences [q-bio.NC]

Gilles Clément. Using your head: Cognition and sensorimotor functions in microgravity. Gravitational and Space Biology, 2007, 20 (2), pp.65-78. ⟨hal-00171465⟩