Macro- and microstructural changes in cosmonauts’ brains after long-duration spaceflight

Jillings, Steven; Ombergen, Angelique Van; Tomilovskaya, Elena; Rumshiskaya, Alena; Litvinova, Liudmila; Nosikova, Inna; Pechenkova, Ekaterina; Rukavishnikov, Ilya; Манько, О. М.; Даниличев, С. Н.; Sunaert, Stefan; Parizel, Paul M.; Sinitsyn, V. E.; Petrovichev, Victor; Laureys, Steven; Eulenburg, Peter zu; Sijbers, Jan; Wuyts, Floris L.; Jeurissen, Ben

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaz9488

Cited by 68 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(96 reference statements)

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“…They demonstrated that the vast majority of GM changes were due to volume shifts; these GM changes were largely reversed on 7-month follow up, in agreement with previous studies 25 . Interestingly, by their method, a net gain of GM tissue was noted in the basal ganglia, an area involved in voluntary movement 25 . In addition, Jillings et al noted increased WM volume in the cerebellum, corticospinal tract and primary motor cortex in cosmonauts immediately following spaceflight, which were partially resolved on 7 month follow-up scan.…”

Section: Changes To Cerebrospinal Fluid Circulation After Spaceflightsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In addition, Jillings et al noted increased WM volume in the cerebellum, corticospinal tract and primary motor cortex in cosmonauts immediately following spaceflight, which were partially resolved on 7 month follow-up scan. Taken together, these results may suggest that spaceflight induces WM volume increases in the motor and coordination regions of the brain, which partially resolves upon return to earth 25 . Several studies have also utilized diffusion-weighted MRI to examine the microstructure of WM by fractional anisotropy.…”

Section: Changes To Cerebrospinal Fluid Circulation After Spaceflightmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…Jillings et al has recently published an MRI study in cosmonauts utilizing a technique called multi-tissue spherical deconvolution with the goal of differentiating GM changes driven by local volume shifts (CSF, brain positioning) versus genuine tissue loss such as that seen in neurodegeneration 25 . They demonstrated that the vast majority of GM changes were due to volume shifts; these GM changes were largely reversed on 7-month follow up, in agreement with previous studies 25 . Interestingly, by their method, a net gain of GM tissue was noted in the basal ganglia, an area involved in voluntary movement 25 .…”

Section: Changes To Cerebrospinal Fluid Circulation After Spaceflightmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of alterations to the brain during spaceflight and the potential relevance to crew in long-duration space exploration

2021

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During spaceflight, the central nervous system (CNS) is exposed to a complex array of environmental stressors. However, the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the CNS and the resulting impact to crew health and operational performance remain largely unknown. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding spaceflight-associated changes to the brain as measured by magnetic resonance imaging, particularly as they relate to mission duration. Numerous studies have reported macrostructural changes to the brain after spaceflight, including alterations in brain position, tissue volumes and cerebrospinal fluid distribution and dynamics. Changes in brain tissue microstructure and connectivity were also described, involving regions related to vestibular, cerebellar, visual, motor, somatosensory and cognitive function. Several alterations were also associated with exposure to analogs of spaceflight, providing evidence that brain changes likely result from cumulative exposure to multiple independent environmental stressors. Whereas several studies noted that changes to the brain become more pronounced with increasing mission duration, it remains unclear if these changes represent compensatory phenomena or maladaptive dysregulations. Future work is needed to understand how spaceflight-associated changes to the brain affect crew health and performance, with the goal of developing comprehensive monitoring and countermeasure strategies for future long-duration space exploration.

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Section: Changes To Cerebrospinal Fluid Circulation After Spaceflightsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Changes To Cerebrospinal Fluid Circulation After Spaceflightmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Changes To Cerebrospinal Fluid Circulation After Spaceflightmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of alterations to the brain during spaceflight and the potential relevance to crew in long-duration space exploration

2021

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“…These studies have also provided evidence for vestibular cortex reorganization and multisensory reweighting following spaceflight. The authors did not report if the cosmonauts who participated in these studies developed SANS during spaceflight, though it has been reported that cosmonauts do not develop SANS perhaps due to differences in in-flight countermeasures used by astronauts and cosmonauts 61 .…”

Section: Subgroup Differences In Longitudinal Changes In Functional Connectivitymentioning

confidence: 98%

Ophthalmic Changes in a Spaceflight Analog Are Associated with Brain Functional Reorganization

McGregor

Lee

Mulder

et al. 2020

Preprint

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ImportanceFollowing long-duration missions onboard the International Space Station, some astronauts develop ophthalmic abnormalities collectively referred to as Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS). Optic disc edema is a common sign of SANS. SANS presents significant potential risk to astronaut health and performance; however, the origin and effects of SANS are not understood as signs of SANS have not manifested in previous spaceflight analog studies.ObjectiveTo investigate whether development of optic disc edema during a spaceflight analog impacts resting-state functional connectivity.Design, Setting and ParticipantsEleven healthy volunteers participated in this 58-day longitudinal study conducted at the :envihab facility at the German Aerospace Center.Interventions or ExposuresBaseline data were collected during a 14-day ambulatory phase in standard ambient air. All participants then underwent a spaceflight analog intervention: 30 days of strict head-down tilt bed rest in elevated ambient carbon dioxide (HDBR+CO2). The elevated CO2 level (0.5%) was matched to the hypercapnic environment of the International Space Station. The intervention was followed by a 14-day ambulatory recovery phase in standard ambient air. During the HDBR+CO2 spaceflight analog, 5 participants developed optic disc edema (SANS subgroup) and 6 did not (NoSANS group).Main Outcomes and MeasuresUsing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we acquired resting-state data at 6 time points throughout the study: before (2), during (2), and after (2) the HDBR+CO2 intervention. We assessed the time course of resting-state functional connectivity changes from before, during, to after the HDBR+CO2, and contrasted longitudinal changes between the SANS and NoSANS subgroups. We also assessed if the SANS and NoSANS subgroups exhibited differential patterns of resting-state functional connectivity prior to the HDBR+CO2 intervention.ResultsThe SANS and NoSANS subgroups exhibited differential patterns of resting-state connectivity changes during the HDBR+CO2 spaceflight analog within visual and vestibular-related brain networks. We further found that the SANS and NoSANS subgroups exhibited differential resting-state brain activity prior to the spaceflight analog within a visual cortical network and within a large-scale network of brain areas involved in multisensory integration.Conclusions and RelevanceSubgroup differences in resting-state functional connectivity changes may reflect differential patterns of visual and vestibular reweighting as optic disc edema develops during the HDBR+CO2 spaceflight analog. This finding suggests that SANS impacts not only neuro-ocular structures, but also brain function. Future prospective investigations incorporating sensory assessments are required to determine the functional significance of the observed connectivity differences.KEY POINTSQuestionDoes optic disc edema development during head-down tilt bed rest with elevated carbon dioxide impact brain resting-state functional connectivity?FindingsA subset of participants developed optic disc edema during the head-down tilt bed rest intervention with elevated ambient CO2. Participants who developed optic disc edema exhibited a distinct pattern of resting-state functional connectivity changes within visual and vestibular-related networks during the spaceflight analog compared to participants who did not. Participants who developed optic disc edema exhibited different resting-state brain activity prior to the spaceflight analog within a visual cortical network and within a large-scale network of brain areas involved in multisensory integration.MeaningDevelopment of optic disc edema was associated with distinct patterns of brain resting-state functional connectivity during and prior to the spaceflight analog.

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“…Microgravity induces a physical body unloading and a headward fluid shift ( Marshall-Goebel et al, 2019b ). Structural brain changes observed in astronauts after return from International Space Station (ISS) missions have included an upward shift of the brain ( Roberts et al, 2017 ; Lee et al, 2019 ; Roberts et al, 2019 ), changes in gray matter volume ( Koppelmans et al, 2016 ), increased white matter in the cerebellum ( Jillings et al, 2020 ), and cerebrospinal fluid volume increases in the third and lateral ventricles ( Alperin et al, 2017 ; Roberts et al, 2017 ; Van Ombergen et al, 2019 ; Jillings et al, 2020 ; Kramer et al, 2020 ). The functional consequences of these physiologic and anatomical changes remain largely unknown ( Roberts et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuous and Intermittent Artificial Gravity as a Countermeasure to the Cognitive Effects of 60 Days of Head-Down Tilt Bed Rest

et al. 2021

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Environmental and psychological stressors can adversely affect astronaut cognitive performance in space. This study used a 6° head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR) paradigm to simulate some of the physiologic changes induced by microgravity. Twenty-four participants (mean ± SD age 33.3 ± 9.2 years, N = 16 men) spent 60 consecutive days in strict HDBR. They were studied in three groups of eight subjects each. One group served as Control, whereas the other two groups received either a continuous or intermittent artificial gravity (AG) countermeasure of 30 min centrifugation daily (1 g acceleration at the center of mass and 2 g at the feet). Participants performed all 10 tests of NASA’s Cognition battery and a brief alertness and mood survey repeatedly before, during, and after the HDBR period. Test scores were adjusted for practice and stimulus set difficulty effects. A modest but statistically significant slowing across a range of cognitive domains was found in all three groups during HDBR compared to baseline, most consistently for sensorimotor speed, whereas accuracy was unaffected. These changes were observed early during HDBR and did not further worsen or improve with increasing time in HDBR, except for emotion recognition performance. With increasing time spent in HDBR, participants required longer time to decide which facial emotion was expressed. They were also more likely to select categories with negative valence over categories with neutral or positive valence. Except for workload, which was rated lower in the Control group, continuous or intermittent AG did not modify the effect of HDBR on cognitive performance or subjective responses. Participants expressed several negative survey responses during HDBR relative to baseline, and some of the responses further deteriorated during recovery, which highlights the importance of adequate medical and psychological support during extended duration HDBR studies. In conclusion, 60 days of HDBR were associated with moderate cognitive slowing and changes in emotion recognition performance, but these effects were not mitigated by either continuous or intermittent exposure to AG for 30 min daily.

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Macro- and microstructural changes in cosmonauts’ brains after long-duration spaceflight

Cited by 68 publications

References 45 publications

A review of alterations to the brain during spaceflight and the potential relevance to crew in long-duration space exploration

A review of alterations to the brain during spaceflight and the potential relevance to crew in long-duration space exploration

Ophthalmic Changes in a Spaceflight Analog Are Associated with Brain Functional Reorganization

Continuous and Intermittent Artificial Gravity as a Countermeasure to the Cognitive Effects of 60 Days of Head-Down Tilt Bed Rest

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