Astronauts' Brains Rewired During Long-Term Space Missions to Adapt to Extreme Cosmic Environment

A new study reveals that astronauts' brains are somehow "rewired" whenever they venture on a long-term space mission. This neurological phenomenon helps them adapt to the extremities of the cosmic environment.

Belgium's University of Antwerp led the research with international collaborators from various institutes. The investigation on the brain activity of astronauts was made possible through the data of Russian cosmonauts, each having space mission experiences that average to 172 days.

Brain Functions and Structure Changes in Space

Space Shuttle Discovery Continues On Its Last Mission

(Photo : NASA via Getty Images)
IN SPACE - FEBRUARY 28: In this handout image provided by NASA, NASA astronauts Steve Bowen (foreground) and Alvin Drew, both STS-133 mission specialists, participate in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station February 28, 2011 in Space. During the six-hour, 34-minute spacewalk, Bowen and Drew installed the J612 power extension cable, move a failed ammonia pump module to the External Stowage Platform 2 on the Quest Airlock for return to Earth at a later date, installed a camera wedge on the right hand truss segment, installed extensions to the mobile transporter rail and exposed the Japanese "Message in a Bottle" experiment to space. Discovery, on its 39th and final flight, is carrying the Italian-built Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM), Express Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4) and Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot in space to the International Space Station.

The human brain is known to adapt and change many times depending on our experiences throughout our lifetime. The functions and structure of the organ and its composition are commonly affected by these transitions.

In a new study, researchers discovered various factors that trigger the massive changes of the brain, triggering a unique "rewiring" method that benefits people outside space.

Microstructural changes were observed in white matter tracts, including sensorimotor tracts, during the investigation. These tracts are commonly utilized by the brain to process motor, sensory, and processing abilities.

The examination's results could introduce several aspects that could be studied further to gain more knowledge regarding the shifts of the brain during space missions.

The study was funded by the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the European Space Agency. The names of the cosmonauts involved in the study were not disclosed.

Modern-day space exploration keeps getting better. In the recent decade, numerous ventures were carried out by international space agencies and other private firms to get ahold of vital information relative to the cosmos.

The population who flies to low Earth orbit increases, and plans to go back to the moon and visit Mars are already laid out. Therefore, it is essential for us to know how spaceflight naturally impacts the human brain, according to the authors.

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Brain Adapts During Long-Duration Spaceflights

Previous investigations already suggested that spaceflights could alter the function and physical characteristics of adult brains. For this new study, led by the University of Antwerp's Lab for Equilibrium Investigations and Aerospace expert Floris Wuyts, the international scholars analyzed how the brain's structure changes down on the deep-brain white matter tracts whenever the organ is exposed in an unfamiliar environment of space.

White matter tracts are regions of the brain known to relay data between the body and the gray matter. It also works to let other gray matter regions communicate with one another.

Fiber tractography was the imaging technique utilized to study how the brain shifts during spaceflights. The approach, which focuses on the "wirings" of the brain, was used for the first time in a study regarding the change in the brain's structures on spaceflight, Wuyts said in a DailyMail report.

Brains scans were collected from 12 male cosmonauts through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and after spaceflights. Eight follow-up scans were conducted after seven months from the 172-day mission.

Experts found proof of an aspect called "the learned brain," when the brain organ's neuroplasticity adapts to spaceflight. Neural connection shifts were also observed in several motor areas of the brain, according to Drexel University and co-author Andrei Doroshin.

The brain's motor areas are responsible for the commands and movements of the entire body. When in a weightless environment, the astronaut heavily relies on these motor areas to adapt movement strategies that are significantly different when on Earth.

The rewiring of the brain was still prominent in the cosmonauts even after seven months had passed since the space missions. According to Wuyts, initial studies detected several expansions in the corpus callosum, a part in between liquid-filled chambers called brain ventricles and is responsible for connecting both hemispheres of the organ.

Changes in the corpus callosum borders were initially found through the dilation of the ventricles upon the impact of anatomical shifts in the adjacent neural tissue. In future studies, the authors expect to prove how the countermeasures for muscle and bone loss helps astronauts to keep their systems healthy.

The expert noted that the latest findings are pieces of a larger puzzle and they couldn't figure it out at the time. For now, what they know is that astronauts' brains change when they are in space.

The study titled "Brain Connectometry Changes in Space Travelers After Long-Duration Spaceflight" was published in Frontiers in Neural Circuits.