We know that being in space affects differe parts of our body, from the brain to the bones; But scieists still do not know the exact details of this change. In a new study, scieists investigated how long-term space missions and the time between them affect human brain fluid.
According to Science Alert, this cerebrospinal fluid, which is stored in four chambers called vericles in the brain, acts like a shock absorber and protects this organ by reducing the iensity of the blows to the brain. This liquid is also responsible for washing away cellular waste and supplying nutries from the bloodstream.
Researchers from the University of Florida, NASA’s Johnson Space Ceer and other US institutions have discovered how spaceflight affects the size of the vericles and the volume of cerebrospinal fluid. According to them, this increase depends on certain factors, such as the amou of time astronauts spend in space and the time iervals between their space adveures.
“These findings suggest that spaceflight-induced vericular expansion coinues as mission duration increases,” University of Florida neuroscieist Heather McGregor and her colleagues wrote in their paper. In addition, time iervals of less than three years may not provide the vericles with enough time to recover compensatory capacity.”
An increase in the size of the vericles and excess fluid in the brain is something that has also been observed in previous studies. This is associated with the upward moveme of the brain inside the skull in microgravity, which in turn helps redistribute the fluid.
After taking magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 30 astronauts and citing previous studies, the researchers concluded that the longer the space flight, the greater the increase in the size of the vericles. According to them, a space trip of 6 mohs or more is where the rate of change seems to stop.
Swelling of the brain’s vericles is thought to represe a compensatory mechanism during spaceflight that allows the brain to adapt to changes in spinal fluid. After returning to the ground, the spinal fluid slowly returns to its normal level.
“Although a larger change in this structure seems unlikely for shorter missions, it may reflect an initial, adaptive in-flight structural change that gradually returns to its original state over time,” the researchers say.
Vericular enlargeme was less promine in astronauts whose missions were less than three years apart. According to the researchers, this means that there is not enough time for the vericles to shrink and readjust to cope with the increase in cerebrospinal fluid.
