Astronauts’ brains are now thought to change when they remain in space during missions. This is confirmed by a new study after observing cosmonauts.
(Photo: Photo credit should read DAVID BARLOW/AFP via Getty Images)
Undated file photo showing the skull and brain using a double exposure. The photo was taken by British photographer and biologist David Barlow who, on November 10, 2003, was announced the winner of the 2003 Lennart Nilsson Prize for Scientific Photography. Barlow is cited for “blending science and animation to clarify the functions of life”.
The new research was conducted by the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA). Based on their findings, the brains of space experts in orbit appear to be rewiring as they adapt to environmental changes off-planet.
“Humans experience extreme physiological changes when subjected to long periods of weightlessness,” said the experts involved in the new study.
Do astronauts’ brains change in space?
ESA and Roscosmos shared their findings in the new study titled “Brain Connectometry Changes in Space Travelers After Long-Duration Spaceflight”, which was published in the Frontiers in Neural Circuits Review.
(Photo: Photo credit should read ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)
International Space Station crew members: Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba are seen inside the Soyuz MS-06 space capsule shortly after landing in an area outside the town of Dzhezkazgan (Zhezkazgan), Kazakhstan, February 28, 2018. Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut returned to Earth on February 28, 2018.
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The two space agencies have used an MRI scanner to observe the physical changes that occur in the brains of cosmonauts who have spent approximately six months aboard the International Space Station.
Experts involved said they identified some shape changes, as well as fluid changes. Before the new study was published, it was thought that weightlessness only affected the corpus callosum of the brain.
But, they later discovered that nearby ventricles were actually expanding. If you want to see more details on the exact changes that occur in the brains of cosmonauts, you can see this link.
Can brain rewiring be prevented?
Of course, brain rewiring activity can lead to negative effects, especially once astronauts return to Earth.
Floris Wuyst, the study’s principal investigator, said there are some things cosmonauts and other space experts aboard the ISS can do to prevent organ changes.
One of the most effective methods is to use artificial gravity, as reported Espace.Com. He claimed that this technology can prevent the fluid displacement problem from occurring in their brain.
In other news, The James Webb Space Telescope used a fine guiding sensor to lock onto a star. Meanwhile, European astronauts recently announced that they want to reach the ISS independently.
For more astronaut news and other related topics, always keep your tabs open here on TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
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