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Brain norepinephrine changes with simulated weightlessness and relation to exercise training.

G M Kastello1, M S Sothmann

  • 1Department of Human Kinetics, School of Allied Health Professions, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA. gkastello@vax2.winona.msus.edu

Physiology & Behavior
|July 15, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Deconditioning syndromes, like simulated weightlessness, alter norepinephrine turnover in the brain. Exercise training may counteract these neural adaptations, preserving nervous system function.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Physiology
  • Space Medicine

Background:

  • Deconditioning syndromes, induced by bed rest, inactivity, or weightlessness, can impair psychological, behavioral, and physiological functions.
  • Norepinephrine (NE) is a key neurotransmitter, and its regulation is crucial for understanding nervous system function during deconditioning.
  • The head-down tilt (HDT) model simulates weightlessness, providing a platform to study its effects on the nervous system.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of a 9-day simulated weightlessness (HDT) on norepinephrine turnover rates in specific brain tissues.
  • To determine if exercise training can serve as a countermeasure against HDT-induced changes in noradrenergic activity.
  • To test the hypotheses that HDT blunts noradrenergic turnover and that exercise training mitigates these changes.

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Main Methods:

  • Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: cage control (CAGE-CN), head-down tilt (HDT), and exercise-trained HDT (HDT-EX).
  • Animals underwent a 9-day HDT protocol (30-degree head-down tilt) or served as controls.
  • Norepinephrine turnover was measured using alpha-methyl-tyrosine administration, assessing NE levels in the locus coeruleus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex.

Main Results:

  • The HDT group exhibited significantly altered norepinephrine turnover rates in the locus coeruleus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex compared to controls.
  • Exercise training (HDT-EX) partially reversed or modulated these changes in norepinephrine turnover in several brain regions.
  • Tissue-specific adaptations in norepinephrine turnover were observed, with some regions showing increased NE turnover in the HDT group, suggesting a stress response.

Conclusions:

  • Norepinephrine turnover rate demonstrates tissue-specific adaptation following a 9-day period of simulated weightlessness (HDT).
  • The observed increases in norepinephrine turnover in the HDT group are indicative of neural adaptation to chronic stress.
  • Exercise training shows potential as a countermeasure to mitigate deconditioning-induced alterations in noradrenergic activity.