The Impact of 6 and 12 Months in Space on Human Brain Structure and Intracranial Fluid Shifts
Abstract
As plans develop for Mars missions, it is important to understand how long-duration spaceflight impacts brain health. Here we report how 12-month (n = 2 astronauts) versus 6-month (n = 10 astronauts) missions impact brain structure and fluid shifts. We collected MRI scans once before flight and four times after flight. Astronauts served as their own controls; we evaluated pre- to postflight changes and return toward preflight levels across the 4 postflight points. We also provide data to illustrate typical brain changes over 7 years in a reference dataset. Twelve months in space generally resulted in larger changes across multiple brain areas compared with 6-month missions and aging, particularly for fluid shifts. The majority of changes returned to preflight levels by 6 months after flight. Ventricular volume substantially increased for 1 of the 12-month astronauts (left: +25%, right: +23%) and the 6-month astronauts (left: 17 ± 12%, right: 24 ± 6%) and exhibited little recovery at 6 months. Several changes correlated with past flight experience; those with less time between subsequent missions had larger preflight ventricles and smaller ventricular volume increases with flight. This suggests that spaceflight-induced ventricular changes may endure for long periods after flight. These results provide insight into brain changes that occur with long-duration spaceflight and demonstrate the need for closer study of fluid shifts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1093/texcom/tgaa023
Entities
People
- Ajitkumar P Mulavara
- Heather R Mcgregor
- Igor S Kofman
- Jacob J. Bloomberg
- Jessica K Lee
- Kathleen Hupfeld
- Nichole E Beltran
- Ofer Pasternak
- Patti A Reuter-lorenz
- Rachael D. Seidler
- Roy F Riascos
- Scott J. Wood
- The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative*
- Yiri E De Dios
Organizations
- Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
- Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- German Aerospace Center
- Harvard Medical School
- KBR, Inc.
- Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
- National Institute on Aging
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
- United States Department of Defense
- University of Florida
- University of Michigan
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston