Eye-Head Coordination in 31 Space Shuttle Astronauts during Visual Target Acquisition

Scientific Reports
Millard F ReschkeGilles Clément

Abstract

Between 1989 and 1995, NASA evaluated how increases in flight duration of up to 17 days affected the health and performance of Space Shuttle astronauts. Thirty-one Space Shuttle pilots participating in 17 space missions were tested at 3 different times before flight and 3 different times after flight, starting within a few hours of return to Earth. The astronauts moved their head and eyes as quickly as possible from the central fixation point to a specified target located 20°, 30°, or 60° off center. Eye movements were measured with electro-oculography (EOG). Head movements were measured with a triaxial rate sensor system mounted on a headband. The mean time to visually acquire the targets immediately after landing was 7-10% (30-34 ms) slower than mean preflight values, but results returned to baseline after 48 hours. This increase in gaze latency was due to a decrease in velocity and amplitude of both the eye saccade and head movement toward the target. Results were similar after all space missions, regardless of length.

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Citations

Jul 16, 2019·Journal of Vestibular Research : Equilibrium & Orientation·Gilles ClémentMillard F Reschke
Apr 16, 2020·Journal of Neurophysiology·Gilles R ClémentWilliam H Paloski
Jul 3, 2021·Geriatrics·Henk KoppelaarMartin van Warmerdam
Nov 13, 2021·Frontiers in Neural Circuits·Grant D TaysRachael D Seidler

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