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Cognitive Performance in Space

Encyclopedia of Bioastronautics

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Definition

Cognition is the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired, including perception, intuition, and reasoning.

Domains of Cognitive Performance

When evaluating effects of spaceflight on cognitive performance, it is helpful to consider the broader context of measuring individual differences in performance and conditions that affect performance within individuals. Multiple measures have been developed by psychologists to assess performance on a wide range of domains, and selecting which to implement within time constrains of any specific project can be daunting. Traditional tests depend heavily on general intellectual abilities (“g factor”) as reflected in the “intelligence quotient” (IQ), and those targeting specific abilities that could be affected by spaceflight require large investment of time and instrumentation (Deary and Batty 2007). Traditional psychometric theory has generally divided cognitive abilities into language-mediated or “verbal” intelligence and...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    G. Strangman

  2. Center for Space Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    G. Strangman

  3. Brain Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    R. C. Gur

  4. Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    M. Basner

Authors
  1. G. Strangman
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  2. R. C. Gur
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  3. M. Basner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Basner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Room 37-219, Massachusetts Institute of Technolo Room 37-219, CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA

    Laurence R. Young

  2. Center for Space Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine Center for Space Medicine, HOUSTON, TX, USA

    Jeffrey P. Sutton

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    David F. Dinges

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Strangman, G., Gur, R.C., Basner, M. (2019). Cognitive Performance in Space. In: Young, L., Sutton, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Bioastronautics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_31-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_31-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-10152-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-10152-1

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Cognitive Performance in Space
    Published:
    30 September 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_31-2

  2. Original

    Cognitive Performance in Space
    Published:
    27 November 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_31-1

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