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Coherence between Brain Cortical Function and Neurocognitive Performance during Changed Gravity Conditions
Published on: May 23, 2011
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Daily artificial gravity is associated with greater neural efficiency during sensorimotor adaptation
Grant D Tays1, Kathleen E Hupfeld1, Heather R McGregor1
1Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32603, USA.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|March 23, 2023
Summary
Artificial gravity (AG) may reduce brain activity needed for sensorimotor adaptation during head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR). This study explored AG's impact on brain and behavior during simulated microgravity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Space Physiology
Background:
- Microgravity alters vestibular signaling, leading to sensory reweighting and adaptation.
- Head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR) effectively simulates microgravity effects on human physiology.
- Artificial gravity (AG) is investigated as a countermeasure to mitigate microgravity-induced changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the efficacy of daily artificial gravity (AG) in counteracting brain and behavioral alterations during 60 days of head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR).
- To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying sensorimotor adaptation under simulated microgravity with and without AG exposure.
Main Methods:
- Sixty participants underwent 60 days of HDBR, with one group receiving 30 minutes of daily AG (n=16) and a control group (n=8) receiving none.
- Participants performed a sensorimotor adaptation task five times, with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans conducted before, during, and after HDBR.
- Behavioral data and brain activation patterns (cerebellum, thalamus, visual, and motor cortices) were analyzed to compare the AG and control groups.
Main Results:
- Both AG and control groups exhibited comparable behavioral adaptation to the sensorimotor task.
- The AG group showed reduced brain activation in the cerebellum, thalamus, calcarine cortex, cuneus, premotor cortex, and superior frontal gyrus from pre- to late HDBR.
- Differential correlations between brain activity and behavior were observed between the two groups.
Conclusions:
- Daily artificial gravity may lead to decreased neural resource recruitment for fundamental motor processes and sensorimotor adaptation during simulated microgravity.
- These observed neural effects in the AG group might be attributed to the somatosensory and vestibular stimulation provided by the artificial gravity intervention.
- AG could potentially alter the neural pathways involved in adapting to altered sensory inputs, warranting further investigation into its long-term effects.
