It's official! Space travel increases the brain size of astronauts, even when they're back on Mother Earth
(2020/04/15)
- Reference: 1586943909
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/15/astronaut_brain_matter/
- Source link:
Prolonged periods in space increases brain mass by as much as 6 per cent, according to a new study, but that's not good news.
Boffins checking NASA astronauts noted the increase in their brain's white matter – the bundles of nerves that make up the inner workings of the human mind. It seems that living in constant freefall does strange things to human minds.
The researchers discovered that the volume of white matter had increased by about six per cent for eleven astronauts that had spent over 170 days living in the International Space Station. All participants in the study underwent MRI scans before and after spaceflight, they were monitored a day after they returned as well as 30, 90, 180, and 360 days after.
The team isn't quite sure how extra white matter causes the brain to fill with fluid. Kramer speculated that it could be down to the enlargement of ventricles within the white matter allowing more fluid to pass through the brain, which adds more pressure on the optic nerve.
"I believe there is a common mechanism by which the white matter and the ventricles expand," Larry Kramer, lead author of the paper [1]published in Radiology on Tuesday and a professor of diagnostic and interventional imaging at the University of Texas Health Science Center, told The Register .
"This is potentially due to dysfunction of water transport in microgravity. Cerebral spinal fluid which is generated in the lateral and third ventricles and which migrates through the white matter accumulates due to this dysfunction."
Kramer told El Reg that the researchers aren't sure how having more white matter could affect [2]cognitive abilities . "We don't know at this time but it will be a subject of interest in upcoming research proposals. We have in a previous study showed that white matter is highly organized in astronauts most likely related to their rigorous training."
Rewriting the checklists: 50 years since Apollo 13 reported it 'had a problem' – and boffins saved the day [3]READ MORE
The team is trying to combat the effects of zero gravity to prevent the buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in space to help astronauts safely embark on longer spaceflights to regions that have never been explored before.
"We are working on countermeasures [exploring ideas like] artificial gravity or lower body negative pressure to see if we can prevent changes that are occurring in the brain and eye of astronauts. Now that we documented these changes we can better determine if we can prevent or slow the development of these changes during long-duration space missions such as the planned trip to Mars," Kramer concluded.
The research could explain why the effects of zero gravity on the brain continue long after astronauts have returned to Earth.
Battling [4]solar radiation , bad food, and social isolation is bad enough in space, but the problems don't miraculously disappear when you return home. A lot of astronauts report bloodshot eyes and blurry vision, symptoms associated with pressure exerted by fluids pushing up against the skull and brain tissue.
"That movement of fluid toward your head may be one of the mechanisms causing changes we are observing in the eye and intracranial compartment," Kramer explained. In space, the lack of gravity pushes the fluid towards the top of the head.
But why does the pressure continue even when the astronauts are back on Earth? Kramer and his colleagues from NASA's Johnson Space Center, the University of Ann Arbor, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and KBR, a private engineering and construction company, reckon it's because the total volume of white matter in the explorer's brains has grown.
"What we identified that no one has really identified before is that there is a significant increase of volume in the brain's white matter from preflight to postflight," said Kramer. "White matter expansion in fact is responsible for the largest increase in combined brain and cerebrospinal fluid volumes postflight." ®
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[1] https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020191413
[2] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/10/10/astronauts_on_longterm_space_travel_could_be_at_risk_of_getting_space_brains/
[3] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/14/apollo_13_part_2/
[4] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/04/12/nasa_twin_study/
[5] https://go.theregister.co.uk/tl/1936/-8553/legacy-modernization-finding-your-way-with-low-code?td=wptl1936
Boffins checking NASA astronauts noted the increase in their brain's white matter – the bundles of nerves that make up the inner workings of the human mind. It seems that living in constant freefall does strange things to human minds.
The researchers discovered that the volume of white matter had increased by about six per cent for eleven astronauts that had spent over 170 days living in the International Space Station. All participants in the study underwent MRI scans before and after spaceflight, they were monitored a day after they returned as well as 30, 90, 180, and 360 days after.
The team isn't quite sure how extra white matter causes the brain to fill with fluid. Kramer speculated that it could be down to the enlargement of ventricles within the white matter allowing more fluid to pass through the brain, which adds more pressure on the optic nerve.
"I believe there is a common mechanism by which the white matter and the ventricles expand," Larry Kramer, lead author of the paper [1]published in Radiology on Tuesday and a professor of diagnostic and interventional imaging at the University of Texas Health Science Center, told The Register .
"This is potentially due to dysfunction of water transport in microgravity. Cerebral spinal fluid which is generated in the lateral and third ventricles and which migrates through the white matter accumulates due to this dysfunction."
Kramer told El Reg that the researchers aren't sure how having more white matter could affect [2]cognitive abilities . "We don't know at this time but it will be a subject of interest in upcoming research proposals. We have in a previous study showed that white matter is highly organized in astronauts most likely related to their rigorous training."
Rewriting the checklists: 50 years since Apollo 13 reported it 'had a problem' – and boffins saved the day [3]READ MORE
The team is trying to combat the effects of zero gravity to prevent the buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in space to help astronauts safely embark on longer spaceflights to regions that have never been explored before.
"We are working on countermeasures [exploring ideas like] artificial gravity or lower body negative pressure to see if we can prevent changes that are occurring in the brain and eye of astronauts. Now that we documented these changes we can better determine if we can prevent or slow the development of these changes during long-duration space missions such as the planned trip to Mars," Kramer concluded.
The research could explain why the effects of zero gravity on the brain continue long after astronauts have returned to Earth.
Battling [4]solar radiation , bad food, and social isolation is bad enough in space, but the problems don't miraculously disappear when you return home. A lot of astronauts report bloodshot eyes and blurry vision, symptoms associated with pressure exerted by fluids pushing up against the skull and brain tissue.
"That movement of fluid toward your head may be one of the mechanisms causing changes we are observing in the eye and intracranial compartment," Kramer explained. In space, the lack of gravity pushes the fluid towards the top of the head.
But why does the pressure continue even when the astronauts are back on Earth? Kramer and his colleagues from NASA's Johnson Space Center, the University of Ann Arbor, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and KBR, a private engineering and construction company, reckon it's because the total volume of white matter in the explorer's brains has grown.
"What we identified that no one has really identified before is that there is a significant increase of volume in the brain's white matter from preflight to postflight," said Kramer. "White matter expansion in fact is responsible for the largest increase in combined brain and cerebrospinal fluid volumes postflight." ®
Sponsored: [5]Legacy Modernization: Finding Your Way With Low-Code
[1] https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020191413
[2] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/10/10/astronauts_on_longterm_space_travel_could_be_at_risk_of_getting_space_brains/
[3] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/14/apollo_13_part_2/
[4] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/04/12/nasa_twin_study/
[5] https://go.theregister.co.uk/tl/1936/-8553/legacy-modernization-finding-your-way-with-low-code?td=wptl1936
This is a spanner in the works.
Wellyboot
>>>In space, the lack of gravity pushes the fluid towards the top of the head<<<
Due to our body having evolved in 1G (to keep fluids where they should be) and now able to provide way more fluid pressure than is needed, (hang upside down for 5 mins and take a selfie for a quick demo). Long term changes will be due to the human body slowly changing to fit the new zero-G environment like the reduced muscle & bone density they all suffer from after long term space flight.
If the additional white matter can't be reduced naturally on returning to 1G then this could be the first indication we have for a real limiting factor on low-g flight duration (does it happen with long term 0.5G?, is the effect linear between 0G & 1G?).
In the long term, spaceship designs could be fundamentally affected, the trip to Mars could literally be a one way deal.
Re: This is a spanner in the works.
Chris G
Looks as though the only way mankind is going to achieve a significant presence in space is either via bio- engineering humans nor coming up with science fiction's artificial gravity.
Or a tap on the head!
Re: This is a spanner in the works.
FeepingCreature
Or rotating stations... no need for sci-fi.
Mekon?
I was going to be smug but ElReg has beaten me to it :(
https://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2012/06/03/americans_heads_will_double_in_length_by_3000/