Navarro Morales Deborah C, Kuldavletova Olga, Quarck Gaëlle, Denise Pierre, Clément Gilles
UNICAEN, INSERM, CHU Caen, Normandy University, COMETE, CYCERON, Esplanade de la Paix, 14032, Caen, France.
NPJ Microgravity. 2023 Jan 19;9(1):6. doi: 10.1038/s41526-023-00250-x.
We perceive the environment through an elaborate mental representation based on a constant integration of sensory inputs, knowledge, and expectations. Previous studies of astronauts on board the International Space Station have shown that the mental representation of space, such as the perception of object size, distance, and depth, is altered in orbit. Because the mental representations of space and time have some overlap in neural networks, we hypothesized that perception of time would also be affected by spaceflight. Ten astronauts were tested before, during, and after a 6-8-month spaceflight. Temporal tasks included judging when one minute had passed and how long it had been since the start of the workday, lunch, docking of a vehicle, and a spacewalk. Compared to pre-flight estimates, there is a relative overestimation for the 1-min interval during the flight and a relative underestimation of intervals of hours in duration. However, the astronauts quite accurately estimated the number of days since vehicle dockings and spacewalks. Prolonged isolation in confined areas, stress related to workload, and high-performance expectations are potential factors contributing to altered time perception of daily events. However, reduced vestibular stimulations and slower motions in weightlessness, as well as constant references to their timeline and work schedule could also account for the change in the estimation of time by the astronauts in space.
我们通过基于感官输入、知识和期望的持续整合而形成的精细心理表征来感知环境。先前对国际空间站上宇航员的研究表明，在轨道上时，空间的心理表征，如物体大小、距离和深度的感知会发生改变。由于空间和时间的心理表现在神经网络中有一些重叠，我们推测时间感知也会受到太空飞行的影响。对10名宇航员在为期6 - 8个月的太空飞行前、飞行中和飞行后进行了测试。时间任务包括判断一分钟何时过去，以及自工作日开始、午餐、航天器对接和太空行走以来过去了多长时间。与飞行前的估计相比，飞行期间对1分钟间隔有相对高估，而对持续数小时的间隔有相对低估。然而，宇航员相当准确地估计了自航天器对接和太空行走以来的天数。在受限区域长时间隔离、与工作量相关的压力以及对高性能的期望是导致日常事件时间感知改变的潜在因素。然而，前庭刺激减少和失重状态下较慢的动作，以及对他们的时间表和工作日程的持续参照，也可能是宇航员在太空中时间估计发生变化的原因。
