The Impact of 6 and 12 Months in Space on Human Brain Structure and Intracranial Fluid Shifts. Issue 1 (15th June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hupfeld, Kathleen E; McGregor, Heather R; Lee, Jessica K; Beltran, Nichole E; Kofman, Igor S; De Dios, Yiri E; Reuter-Lorenz, Patti A; Riascos, Roy F; Pasternak, Ofer; Wood, Scott J; Bloomberg, Jacob J; Mulavara, Ajitkumar P; Seidler, Rachael D
• Is Part Of: Cerebral cortex communications. Volume 1:Issue 1(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-06-15
• Subjects: cortical thickness -- free water -- gray matter volume -- spaceflight -- ventricular volume; Cerebral cortex -- Periodicals; Brain -- Periodicals; 612.825
• DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgaa023
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2632-7376

Abstract

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.