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Macro- and microstructural changes in cosmonauts' brains after long-duration spaceflight.
Steven Jillings1,2, Angelique Van Ombergen3,4, Elena Tomilovskaya5
1Lab for Equilibrium Investigations and Aerospace, Department of Physics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. steven.jillings@uantwerpen.be.
Science Advances
|September 12, 2020
Summary
Long spaceflight alters brain structure, increasing white matter in the cerebellum, indicating sensorimotor neuroplasticity. Fluid shifts also cause brain tissue morphological changes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Space Medicine
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Long-duration spaceflight induces significant physiological changes.
- The impact of spaceflight on brain structure is not well understood.
- Previous studies lacked clarity on spaceflight-induced brain tissue changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate alterations in white matter (WM), gray matter (GM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) after long-duration spaceflight.
- To determine if observed brain changes persist after returning to Earth.
- To elucidate the mechanisms behind spaceflight-induced brain structural modifications.
Main Methods:
- Utilized diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) to analyze brain composition.
- Acquired dMRI scans before, shortly after, and 7 months post-spaceflight.
- Examined voxel-wise changes in WM, GM, and CSF composition.
Main Results:
- Observed a significant increase in cerebellar white matter post-spaceflight, persisting for 7 months.
- Detected a widespread redistribution of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
- Identified morphological changes in gray matter (GM) linked to fluid shifts, not net tissue loss.
Conclusions:
- Spaceflight induces sensorimotor neuroplasticity, evidenced by cerebellar white matter changes.
- Cerebrospinal fluid shifts cause mechanical and morphological alterations in brain tissue.
- The brain exhibits adaptive plasticity in response to the space environment.
