Physical Cognition in Altered Gravity: Link Between Sensorimotor and Cognitive Adaptability

A remarkable aspect of human behaviour is the ability to respond quickly to changes in the environment. This behavioral adaptability—a hallmark of intelligence—is critical for survival and everyday function. However, the question remains open as to how the sensorimotor ability to adapt to physical environments is linked to cognitive ability to modify internal mental representations. Here, we used altered gravity to address this question. Twenty-five participants completed a virtual-reality task that required them to adapt their movements to non-terrestrial gravities and a computerised task in which they had to reason about physical outcomes under varied gravitational conditions. Participants' performance in these tasks was compared against their performance under normal terrestrial gravity to measure adaptability. Our findings reveal stable individual differences in adaptability across both sensorimotor and cognitive domains, with significant correlations between the two. Participants who adeptly adjusted their motor actions to the altered gravitational forces also demonstrated a superior ability to adapt their cognitive strategies under similar conditions. Our findings support the theory of embodied cognition, suggesting a profound linkage between physical interaction with the environment and cognitive processing capabilities. The study raises the possibility that sensorimotor adaptation may enhance abstract reasoning capabilities, or vice versa.