Astronauts’ brains “rewired” during space missions

A new study has been published in limits of neural circuits He is the first to analyze The structural connectivity that occurs in the brain changes after a long-duration spaceflight. The results show significant microstructural changes in several white matter pathways, such as the sensory pathways. The study could form the basis for future research into the full range of brain changes during human space exploration.

Our brain can change and adapt in structure and function throughout our lives. With human space exploration reaching new heights, understanding the effects of spaceflight on the human brain is crucial. Previous research has shown that spaceflight has the potential to alter the appearance and function of an adult brain.

Through a collaborative project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos, a team of international researchers led by Dr. Floris Waits from the University of Antwerp has studied the brains of humans traveling in space.

Wuyts and colleagues investigated, for the first time, structural changes in the brain after spaceflight at the level of the brain’s deep white matter tracts.

White matter refers to the parts of the brain responsible for communication between gray matter and the body and between different areas of gray matter. In short, white matter is the brain’s communication channel and gray matter is where information is processed.

educated mind

To study the structure and function of the brain after spaceflight, the researchers used a brain imaging technology called fiber optics.

The image of the fibrous tract provides a kind of wiring diagram for the brain. Yates explained that our study is the first to use this specific method to detect changes in brain structure after spaceflight.

Wuyts and his team obtained diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) of 12 male astronauts before and after their spaceflights. They also collected eight follow-up scans, seven months into the spaceflight. All astronauts participated in long-duration missions with an average duration of 172 days.

Researchers have found evidence for the concept of a “learned brain.” In other words, the level of neuroplasticity must adapt to spaceflight. “We found changes in the neural connections between the different motor areas of the brain,” said first author Andrei Dorochin from Drexel University. “Motor areas are the centers of the brain where movement commands begin. In weightlessness, an astronaut needs to radically adapt his movement strategies, compared to Earth. Our study shows that your brain is rewired, so to speak.”

Follow-up examinations revealed that seven months after returning to Earth, these changes were still visible.

“From previous studies, we know that these motor regions show signs of adaptation after spaceflight. Now, we have the first indication that this is also reflected in the level of connections between these regions,” continued Yates.

The authors also found an explanation for the anatomical changes in the brain observed after spaceflight.

“At first, we thought we had detected changes in corpus callosumIt is the central pathway that connects the two halves of the brain,” White explained corpus callosum It limits the ventricles of the brain, a connected network of fluid-filled chambers that expand due to space travel.

“The structural changes we found in the beginning corpus callosum It’s actually caused by the dilation of the ventricles, which causes anatomical changes to nearby nerve tissue, Waits said. “Where it was initially thought that there were real structural changes in the brain, we only observed changes in shape. This puts the results in a different perspective.”

The future of spaceflight research

The study demonstrates the need to understand how spaceflight affects our bodies, specifically through long-term research into the effects on the human brain. There are currently countermeasures for muscle and bone loss, such as exercising for at least two hours daily. Future research may provide evidence that countermeasures are necessary for the brain.

“These results give us additional pieces of the whole puzzle. Because this research is so ground-breaking, we still don’t know what the whole puzzle will look like. These results contribute to our general understanding of what’s going on in the brains of space travelers, and it’s imperative that this kind of research be maintained, and looking at Brain changes caused by spaceflight from different points of view and the use of different techniques.

Reference: “Brain connectivity changes in space travelers after a long-duration spaceflight” by Andrei Dorochin, Stephen Gillings, Ben Gorisin, Elena Tomilovskaya, Ekaterina Pechenkova, Inna Nosikova, Alina Rumchiskaya, Lyudmila Litvinova, Ilya Rukavishnikov, Kathlebruin Viktor Petrovichev, Angelique, Vanjitka Ann M. Barzel, Valentin Sinitsyn, Peter zu Gollenberg, Karol Osipovich, and Floris L. Yates, February 18, 2022 Available here. limits of neural circuits.
DOI: 10.3389 / fncir.2022.815838