Year

2026

Season

Spring

Paper Type

Master's Thesis

College

College of Computing, Engineering & Construction

Degree Name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)

Department

Engineering

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. School of Engineering

Committee Chairperson

Dr. Gokan May

Second Advisor

Dr. Longfei Zhou

Rights Statement

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Third Advisor

Dr. Pallavi Singh

Abstract

Cognitive distraction poses a risk to astronaut performance during complex, multitasking operations in spaceflight environments. This study examined the effects of cognitive load on neuromuscular coordination and task execution using surface electromyography (sEMG) and motion capture. Thirteen participants performed spaceflight-relevant tasks under undistracted and distracted conditions, with distraction induced through verbal questioning. EMG signals from eight upper-extremity muscles were processed using envelope filtering, peak normalization, and time normalization to enable inter-subject comparison, and group-level mean activation with standard deviation was analyzed. While overall muscle activation was similar between conditions, phase-dependent differences were observed, with undistracted trials showing higher activation during movement initiation and task completion, and distracted trials exhibiting increased variability and intermittent activation gaps. In contrast, proximal muscles such as the upper trapezius and medial deltoid demonstrated equal or greater activation under distraction, suggesting compensatory stabilization strategies. Task-dependent effects were observed, with repetitive movements showing minimal sensitivity to distraction, while coordination-intensive tasks exhibited greater variability. Overall, these findings indicate that cognitive distraction alters the coordination and structure of neuromuscular output rather than uniformly reducing muscle activation, with important implications for astronaut readiness and performance monitoring in operational environments.

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