Table of Contents

Hand-Eye Coordination

One of the observed effects of long duration space flight is a noticeable decline in the hand-eye coordination ability of the astronauts. The decline is not gradual but abrupt and then there is a return to normal over 96 hours as the astronauts adapt (through practice) to their new environment.

PMDIS (an overview)

Dr. Barry Fowler, a neuroscientist working with the Canadian Space Agency, is researching the causes of this reduction in hand-eye coordination in space. Dr. Fowler and his team have designed the PMDIS experiment (for "Perceptual-Motor Deficits In Space"). The core of this experiment resembles a simple computer game. Astronauts will perform this experiment in the Space Shuttle and in the International Space Station.

The computer will challenge the astronauts to respond to events on the screen of the computer. The computer will record their reaction times and also record their accuracy.

Responses to the computer's challenges are input in various ways. Some tasks require input by joy-stick, others by using a touch -screen. A third option, designed to measure an astronaut's response time, will require them to use a push button by which they will respond to audible cues.

The experiment will be conducted in two settings; setting one, sitting at a table in the microgravity of space: setting two, sitting at the same table, but held by a seatbelt and wristband in a stable position.

The computer will record their speed and accuracy as they tap the targets.

Several reasons for this effect have been suggested,

1. The difficulty associated with movement in a free-fall environment.
   (the lack of fixed inertial anchor points)

2. The cumulative effects of stress and/or sleep deprivation.
   (fatigue)

3. The brain's inability to easily make adjustments to the free-fall environment.
   (inaccurate spatial sense and poor assessments of inertial effects)

4. The effect of using muscles that would normally use the force of gravity to assist them and/or slight but significant declines in muscular tone and strength.
   (Subtle and unexpected changes in overall physical fitness)

Hand Eye Coordination Experiment

The following experiment will provide some insight into the mechanics of hand-eye coordination and the brain's ability (or inability) to make adjustments as the environmental conditions change.

Equipment

• Stop watch
• Coordination test sheets (9 per test-candidate)
• Coloured marker or pen
• Masking tape
• Data recording chart(s)
• Wrist weights (minimum 1 kilogram)

Procedure

Each test-candidate will perform a total of nine (9) trials, grouped into pre-test, weight-test, and post-test, each having three (3) trials.

For testing a group of candidates it is useful to designate one person as official timer, one person as official recorder, and one official set-up person to set up new trial pages for each test.

Set-up

1. Tape a test sheet on a vertical surface at approximately eye-level in front of each candidate.

2. Position the test-candidate at slightly less than one of their arm's length from the test sheet (i.e at the maximum distance at which the candidate can easily reach the test- sheet with the pen or marker)

"Test" groups:

There are three sets of tests that each candidate must perform. Three trials are used in each group. In total, a candidate will perform the activity 9 times.

The objective is to draw a line from the BEGIN circle to the END circle on the test sheet by drawing a line inside the borders of the wide shaded line joining the BEGIN and END circles in the minimum amount of time.

Scoring

The diagram below shows the results of a typical trial.

Time is measured to the nearest tenth (0.1) second.

Distances outside the border (OS) are measured to the nearest tenth (0.1) centimeter.

A boundary cross (BC) is counted both in the inwards and outwards directions.

Hints and tips

For Candidates:

1. It is better to take a few extra seconds to complete the trial than it is to cross outside the boundary.

2. The position of the candidate's feet should remain in the same location for all tests.

For Timers:

1. Give candidates a "ready... set... go" count-down. Record the time for each trial from "start" to "end" to the nearest tenth of a second.

2. The interval between trials should be roughly the same.

Analysis: Method 1

Make a graph plotting the average results for trials 1 through 9. Are there any patterns?

If there is a pattern what does it suggest? Can you refine the experiment to test your hypotheses?

Analysis: Method 2

Make a histogram (bar graph) plotting the average results for each group. Are there any patterns? If there is a pattern what does it suggest? Can you refine the experiment to test your hypotheses?

Modifications

This experiment can be modified in various ways to investigate the adaptability of hand-eye coordination to changing external conditions.

1. What is the effect of heavier wrist weights?

2. Is the outcome the same if the candidates are in a sitting position?

3. Does changing the number of trials have an effect? In space, the astronauts seem to recover their hand-eye coordination ability with practice.

4. Does the age of the candidates have an effect on the outcome?

5. Investigate different methods of analyzing the data rather than the method that is suggested in this activity.

Printable trial sheets available as a Word document and PDF document.

» Outcomes