Noninvasive Brain Stimulation &amp; Space Exploration: Opportunities and Challenges

Romanella, Sara M.; Sprugnoli, Giulia; Ruffini, Giulio; Seyedmadani, Kimia; Rossi, Símone; Santarnecchi, Emiliano

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.005

Cited by 28 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 362 publications

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“…Invasive electrical brain stimulation modalities, such as vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) or deep brain stimulation (DBS), require the surgical placement of electrodes in the brain ( Rahimpour et al, 2021 ; Wang Y. et al, 2021 ). The modulation effects of non-invasive strategies, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are limited to the cortical surface ( Hoy and Fitzgerald, 2010 ; Romanella et al, 2020 ). Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) transmits low-intensity ultrasound into the brain non-invasively and focuses on deep brain regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation: A Review of the Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects on Brain Activity in Human and Animals

Zhang

Pan

Wang

et al. 2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Non-invasive neuromodulation technology is important for the treatment of brain diseases. The effects of focused ultrasound on neuronal activity have been investigated since the 1920s. Low intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) can exert non-destructive mechanical pressure effects on cellular membranes and ion channels and has been shown to modulate the activity of peripheral nerves, spinal reflexes, the cortex, and even deep brain nuclei, such as the thalamus. It has obvious advantages in terms of security and spatial selectivity. This technology is considered to have broad application prospects in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and neuropsychiatric disorders. This review synthesizes animal and human research outcomes and offers an integrated description of the excitatory and inhibitory effects of tFUS in varying experimental and disease conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation: A Review of the Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects on Brain Activity in Human and Animals

Zhang

Pan

Wang

et al. 2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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“…Because invasive techniques to study the brain and the spinal cord under the conditions of support withdrawal cannot be used, a different method is required. Recently transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) began to be utilized in the field of space medicine and biology ( Davey et al, 2004 ; Roberts et al, 2007 , 2010 ; Badran et al, 2020 ; Romanella et al, 2020 ; Nosikova et al, 2021 ). This method is widely used in studying cognition, brain-behavior relationships and the pathophysiology of neurological and psychiatric disorders; in particular, TMS of the motor cortex has a well-established role in clinical neurophysiology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

NAIAD-2020: Characteristics of Motor Evoked Potentials After 3-Day Exposure to Dry Immersion in Women

Nosikova

Riabova

Amirova

et al. 2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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As female astronauts participate in space flight more and more frequently, there is a demand for research on how the female body adapts to the microgravity environment. In particular, there is very little research on how the neuromuscular system reacts to gravitational unloading in women. We aimed to estimate changes in motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in the lower leg muscles in women after 3-day exposure to Dry Immersion (DI), which is one of the most widely used ground models of microgravity. Six healthy female volunteers (mean age 30.17 ± 5.5 years) with a natural menstrual cycle participated in this experiment. MEPs were recorded from the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles twice before DI, on the day of DI completion, and 3 days after DI, during the recovery period. To evoke motor responses, transcranial and trans-spinal magnetic stimulation was applied. We showed that changes in MEP characteristics after DI exposure were different depending on the stimulation site, but were similar for both muscles. For trans-spinal stimulation, MEP thresholds decreased compared to baseline values, and amplitudes, on the contrary, increased, resembling the phenomenon of hypogravitational hyperreflexia. This finding is in line with data observed in other experiments on both male and female participants. MEPs to transcranial stimulation had an opposing dynamic, which may have resulted from the small group size and large inter-subject variability, or from hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle. Central motor conduction time remained unchanged, suggesting that pyramidal tract conductibility was not affected by DI exposure. More research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms.

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“…Biomolecules 43 inside the brain or cortex might particularly account for the association between observed neuronal oscillatory and cognitive changes 44 . Regarding research on psychological situations, space psychology, a focused frontier field in human sciences, was established with the launch of Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 45 , and living in a confined and isolated environment impacts mood and cognition 4 . Relevantly, the brain balance between emotions and cognition is disrupted in emotional disorders, such as anxiety and depression, and the nervous system is biased toward processing negative psychological information 46 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme conditions affect neuronal oscillations of cerebral cortices in humans in the China Space Station and on Earth

et al. 2022

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Rhythmical oscillations of neural populations can reflect working memory performance. However, whether neuronal oscillations of the cerebral cortex change in extreme environments, especially in a space station, remains unclear. Here, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) signals when volunteers and astronauts were executing a memory task in extreme working conditions. Our experiments showed that two extreme conditions affect neuronal oscillations of the cerebral cortex and manifest in different ways. Lengthy periods of mental work impairs the gating mechanism formed by theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling of two cortical areas, and sleep deprivation disrupts synaptic homeostasis, as reflected by the substantial increase in theta wave activity in the cortical frontal-central area. In addition, we excluded the possibility that nutritional supply or psychological situations caused decoupled theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling or an imbalance in theta wave activity increase. Therefore, we speculate that the decoupled theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling detected in astronauts results from their lengthy periods of mental work in the China Space Station. Furthermore, comparing preflight and inflight experiments, we find that long-term spaceflight and other hazards in the space station could worsen this decoupling evolution. This particular neuronal oscillation mechanism in the cerebral cortex could guide countermeasures for the inadaptability of humans working in spaceflight.

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Noninvasive Brain Stimulation & Space Exploration: Opportunities and Challenges

Cited by 28 publications

References 362 publications

Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation: A Review of the Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects on Brain Activity in Human and Animals

Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation: A Review of the Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects on Brain Activity in Human and Animals

NAIAD-2020: Characteristics of Motor Evoked Potentials After 3-Day Exposure to Dry Immersion in Women

Extreme conditions affect neuronal oscillations of cerebral cortices in humans in the China Space Station and on Earth

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