Chinese Journal of Polar Research

ADVANCES IN POLAR SCIENCE

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Cognitive effects of long-term residence in the Antarctic environment

YAN Gonggu1,2*, WU Songdi3, WANG Tianle1, ZHANG Xuemin1,2 & SAKLOFSKE Donald H4   

  1. 1 School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
    2 Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology of Beijing, Beijing 100875, China;
    3 Department of Neurology, Xi’an No.1 Hospital, Xi’an 710002, China;
    4 Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
  • Online:1962-09-30 Published:1962-09-30

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Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine whether prolonged residence in the Antarctica had a significant impact on cognitive performance. Participants were members of the 24th and 25th Chinese Antarctic expedition teams. Cognitive performances were measured by tests designed to evaluate short-term recognition, memory searching and spatial cognition, and were measured at four intervals in January, March, April, and June 2010 respectively. With age controlled as a covariate, data were analyzed using repeated-measure ANOVA. The results showed that subjects’ short-term memory and recognition ability remained stable, while 82% of the team members improved their scores on the spatial cognitive ability test. These findings have importance for furthering our understanding of cognitive functioning in extreme environments.

Key words: Antarctica, prolonged residence, cognitive performance, memory, spatial cognition