A study funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) revealed Thursday that astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) or NASA’s space shuttle on missions lasting at least six months experienced significant enlargement of the brain’s ventricles the spaces in the middle of the brain that contain cerebrospinal fluid .
“Spaceflight poses a number of risks to the human body, including increased radiation, exposure to microgravity, and social isolation and confinement in an enclosed environment, among others,” said the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Recovery time
Based on brain scans of 30 astronauts, the researchers found that it took three years for the ventricles to fully recover after such trips, suggesting that an interval of at least that length would be appropriate between longer space missions.
“If the ventricles don’t have enough time to recover between back-to-back missions, it can affect the brain’s ability to cope with fluid shifts in microgravity.” For example, if the ventricles are already enlarged from a previous mission, they may be less compliant and/or have less room to expand and accommodate fluid shifts during the next mission,” said University of Florida neuroscientist Heather McGregor, lead author of the study. Reuters.
Impact
“The impact of chamber expansion on space travelers is currently unknown. Longer-term health monitoring is needed. This expansion of the ventricles likely compresses the surrounding brain tissue,” said University of Florida physiology and kinesiology professor and lead study author Rachael Seidler.
The study concluded that longer missions, more flights, and shorter recovery times between missions cause greater changes in intracranial fluids.
