Neurophysiological markers of cognitive workload under altered gravity conditions using a gamified dual-task paradigm

Badalì, Constance; Wollseiffen, Petra; Puck, Lennart; Klein, Timo; Schneider, Stefan · 2026 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-34426-0

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Summary

This study investigates how altered gravity conditions affect cognitive workload and neurophysiological markers during a dual-task paradigm, addressing the critical need to maintain astronaut performance in space. The motivation stems from the risk that stress and workload impair executive functions, threatening mission success. The research aimed to understand the distribution of cognitive resources when combining a continuous, gamified primary task with a discrete secondary task, a structure more representative of real operational scenarios than previous studies using discrete tasks. The experiment was conducted during parabolic flights, with 18 healthy participants performing a dual-task protocol across three gravity levels: Earth gravity (1 G), hypergravity (1.8 G), and microgravity (0 G). The primary task was a continuous navigation game (Pac-Man), while the secondary task was an auditory oddball paradigm requiring participants to respond to target tones. Data were collected over 25 consecutive parabolas per participant. Neurophysiological data included 32-channel EEG recordings, analyzed for electrocortical activity (via LORETA) and event-related potentials (ERPs). Behavioral data comprised reaction times and error rates. Statistical analyses used repeated measures ANOVA and non-parametric tests to compare conditions. Key findings revealed no significant differences in electrocortical activity or primary task performance (collision rate) across gravity levels. However, a significant interaction effect was found for the error rate in the secondary task: participants exhibited a significantly higher error rate in microgravity compared to both 1 G and 1.8 G. Electrophysiological analysis showed a pronounced N100-P200 complex, indicating perception-related processing, and an N200 component (interpreted as mismatch negativity) triggered by both tones, with no gravity-dependent differences. Notably, the P300 component, associated with higher cognitive processing, was absent. This absence suggests that cognitive resources were predominantly allocated to the demanding continuous primary task, limiting the discrimination of auditory stimuli in the secondary task. These results highlight that cognitive bottlenecks can easily arise in demanding environments where resources are limited, particularly when continuous tasks compete with discrete ones. The findings imply that effective task prioritization and training-based automation are essential for sustaining performance in spaceflight. Furthermore, given individual variability, personalized workload-management strategies may be crucial for ensuring mission safety. The study underscores the importance of considering task structure in cognitive workload assessments and calls for further research into cognitive resource management in extreme environments.

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• neuro workload indices
• workload measurement

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• Empirical Findings: physiological data