Simulated weightlessness induces cognitive changes in rats illustrated by performance in operant conditioning tasks

摘要

The weightless environment encountered in space flight can cause cognitive changes, affecting mission execution and endanger mission safety. Ground simulations provide the means to evaluate these effects and the resulting risks. In this study, rats were used as model animals and subjected to simulated weightlessness by suspending them from their tails. Tail-suspension and operant task learning experiments were conducted to study the effects of simulated weightlessness on the complex operant conditioning abilities of the subject?s acquisition, maintenance, and signal discrimination skills. The results showed that simulated weightlessness did not affect the animals? acquisition abilities but did affect their ability to maintain learned reflexes and recognize signals. This study may have general potential to research the effects of weightlessness on cognition in the space environment.