A new study shows astronauts’ brains expand when exposed to microgravity. The study, however, did not determine the longterm effect of such an expansion on their health.
Going on space travel may cause your brain to swell according to a new study published in the Journal radiology this week. The study determined that staying in space causes swelling of the optic nerve and the resulting surplus fluid remains in the brain and contributes to Astranouts brain swelling.
Study of astronauts’ brains expansion
The lead author of the study and professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Larry Kramer, said the microgravity may be the cause of these surplus fluids in the brain. This is because, in such an environment, venous blood is not able to pool to lower extremities but instead stays and gets distributed in the head.
Larry continued by saying the movement of the blood in the head may be a contributing factor to why astronauts’ brains expand in the eye and intracranial compartment.
The research was carried out using MRI scans from 10 males astronauts and one female astronaut. They were scanned pre-space travel and post-travel. The study determined that their brain had increased in volume due to exposure to microgravity.
Health impact of the expansion
The astronaut’s brain expands and affects the cerebrospinal fluid after space travel. The study also found that the expansion of the brain remained for at least one year. The health impact of this astronauts’ brain expansion, however, was not determined.
Larry said the study showed that there was an increase in white matter between preflight and postflight. This increase caused a significant increase in brain and cerebrospinal fluid volumes postflight.
Although the study did not determine what the long term effect of such an expansion of the brain were, researchers said they would continue working on the project. If long term negative effects were to be determined, it would mean increasing gravity during space travels to safeguard astronauts. One way of doing that is using a massive centrifuge, which, through rotation, would be able to increase gravity in space.
