The more time astronauts spend in space, the more their brain anatomy changes. Here are the results of a study, published in one of the best international scientific journals.
Friday, June 2, 2017: The famous astronaut Thomas Pesquet hits dry land after spending six months in space aboard the International Space Station. The hardest part for him? Get used to gravity again. But such a trip, lasting around 200 days, also leaves traces on the whole body.
It was already known that astronauts lost muscle and bone mass.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine now proves that long stays in space also change the anatomy of astronauts’ brains.
The brain changes
To do this, the researchers worked on two groups: astronauts who spent a long time in space, of around 165 days, and others who spent much less time, 14 days on average. The researchers analyzed MRI scans before they left and after they returned.
According to the results, traveling for a long time in space causes a narrowing of the central groove. This is the case for 17 out of 18 astronauts who spent a long time there. But this is also the case with only 3 out of 16 astronauts who made a short stay.
The brain moves
Traveling for a long time in space can also cause the brain to shift upwards. And as a result, the room for cerebrospinal fluid in the top of the head is shrinking. Cerebrospinal fluid is a transparent fluid in which the brain bathes. He protects him.
Another consequence observed by the researchers: edema of the optic disc, also called blind spot. This could be related to the narrowing of the central sulcus. And thus to the anatomical changes of the brain, caused by a long stay in space.
What long-term effects?
While this study proves that the brain changes after long space travel, we don’t yet know the long-term effects of these changes.
For this, analyzes must be made on the astronauts, several weeks, months or years after their return to Earth. Thomas Pesquet is already, perhaps, one of these guinea pigs.
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