What Happens to Your Brain in Deep Space Ain't Good

 
An egg in a frying pan, from the Your Brain on Drugs campaign
of the 1970s.  Unfortunately, research shows this is the same effect
deep space travel could have on the human brain. 
In February of this year, Mars One, a non-profit Dutch organization, announced the selection of 100 top candidates for a scheduled 2024 trip to Mars, a trip that may not be possible without inflicting debilitating damage to the brains of those selected for the flight.  The same can be said of flights by NASA or any other group considering such a venture.

A trip from Earth to Mars is estimated by NASA to take about 260 days if launched during the period the orbits of the Earth and Mars are closest, something that happens about every 1.6 years.  Over the eight months needed to travel to Mars, most of it spent in deep space, outside the  protective bubble of Earth's magnetosphere, astronauts will be exposed to cosmic rays left over from past supernova.

According to an article in the May 1 edition of Science Advances, research by UC Irvine's radiation oncology lab, 260 days in space, much of it in deep space outside our planet's protective magnetosphere, will cause damage to the human brain similar to the dysfunction common in brain cancer patients who receive photon-based radiation treatments at higher doses.  Damage to the point to make if difficult if not impossible for astronauts to handle the technology of their spacecraft and possibly even taking care of themselves before they arrive on Mars. 

How this was determined
To determine the effects of deep-space radiation, rodents were subjected to charged particle irradiation (fully ionized oxygen and titanium) at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at the Brookhaven National Laboratory before being sent back to the UC Irvine lab.  What researchers found is that found that exposure to highly energetic charged particles -- much like those found in the galactic cosmic rays that bombard astronauts during extended spaceflights -- cause significant damage to the central nervous system, resulting in cognitive impairments.

Zen in the Art of Writing
by Ray Bradbury

Click on image for details
"This is not positive news for astronauts deployed on a two- to three-year round trip to Mars," said Charles Limoli, a professor of radiation oncology in UCI's School of Medicine. "Performance decrements, memory deficits, and loss of awareness and focus during spaceflight may affect mission-critical activities, and exposure to these particles may have long-term adverse consequences to cognition throughout life."

While cognitive deficits in astronauts would take months to show, Limoli said, the time required for a mission to Mars is sufficient for such deficits to develop. People working for extended periods on the International Space Station do not face the same level of bombardment with galactic cosmic rays, as they are still within the protective magnetosphere of Earth.

The researchers found that exposure to these particles resulted in brain inflammation, which disrupted the transmission of signals among neurons. Imaging revealed how the brain's communication network was impaired through reductions in the structure of nerve cells called dendrites and spines. Additional synaptic alterations in combination with the structural changes interfered with the capability of nerve cells to efficiently transmit electrochemical signals. Furthermore, these differences were parallel to decreased performance on behavioral tasks designed to test learning and memory.

According to Limoli, a partial solution is to design spacecraft with areas of increased shielding, such as those used for rest and sleep. However, highly energetic particles will still pass through the ship and any shielding nonetheless, he noted, "and there is really no escaping them."

Preventative treatments offer some hope. "We are working on pharmacologic strategies involving compounds that scavenge free radicals and protect neurotransmission," Limoli said. "But these remain to be optimized and are under development."

Related stories:
Story Source:  Materials provided by University of California - Irvine.  Vipan K. Parihar, Barrett Allen, Katherine K. Tran, Trisha G. Macaraeg, Esther M. Chu, Stephanie F. Kwok, Nicole N. Chmielewski, Brianna M. Craver, Janet E. Baulch, Munjal M. Acharya, Francis A. Cucinotta, Charles L. Limoli. What happens to your brain on the way to Mars. Science Advances, 01 May 2015

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Workout supplements: An emerging eating disorder in men?

Image
therewontbeanydoves.wordpress.com When developing a fictional character, you may not think about the character using large amounts of over-the-counter dietary supplements.  Especially a man who uses large amounts of workout supplements. While there has been widespread publicity on the dangers of the non-prescribed use of anabolic steroids, not much is said about legal, over-the-counter supplements.  Are there risks?  And if so, what are they?  There are several things the writer should consider. Supplement use is becoming an eating disorder with many men who use them to prepare for and recover from a workout. There is growing evidence of a link between muscle-building supplements and testicular cancer. There is evidence that over-the counter medications and supplements are the most common causes of drug-induced liver failure (a rare event, but still a risk.)  There is even evidence that, “certain popular herbal and dietary supplements can also cause liver damage,"
Read more

Remember faces but not names? You got it wrong.

Image
Source:   Daily Excelsior So, you think you're good at remembering faces, but terrible with names? New research has revealed we are actually better at remembering names than faces The cringe-worthy experience of not being able to remember an acquaintance's name leads many of us to believe we are terrible with names. However, new research has revealed this intuition is misleading; we are actually better at remembering names than faces. With the Christmas party season fast approaching, there will be plenty of opportunity to re-live the familiar, and excruciatingly-awkward, social situation of not being able to remember an acquaintance's name. This cringe-worthy experience leads many of us to believe we are terrible at remembering names. However, new research has revealed this intuition is misleading; we are actually better at remembering names than faces. The authors of the study, from the University of York, suggest that when we castigate ourselves f
Read more

Using Artificial Intelligence to Predict Violence. . . or to Control It?

Image
Dell EMC InFocus A staple of science fiction is a future where artificial intelligence (AI) is used to control people's behavior, or, in which AI supplants the human element. I have mixed feelings about AI, its uses, and our future.  For one thing, it's questionable that the human brain can increase in size or complexity without causing the system to slow down.  The brain of a "genius" isn't larger than yours or mine, its simply organized differently.  The difference between early versions of humans and modern humans is in large part, size.  Yes, brain organization plays a role, but until the latest iteration of us, brain size was the critical factor. If we as a species have survived based on brain size, and brain size has maxed out, how do we continue to evolve intellectually?  Better organization?  Yes, but can we ever hope to create and control this type of evolutionary activity? One solution to maxed human brain size is creating an interface
Read more

M.I.T. Research Explains How Will Rogers Observation Works

Image
Finally it appears that MIT has gotten involved in proving Will's syllogism, "There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." Read his statement carefully.   ONE learns by reading.   A FEW who learn by observation. Then there's the rest of us. The reason for this, it turns out, is a special circuit in the brain that you or I need to have a functioning version of to actually learn by observing others.  Based on how we all behave, it is a circuit most of us must be missing.   Or perhaps it shorted out the first time we peed on an electric fence and it has yet to grow back.   *  *  *  *  * Brain circuit helps us learn by watching others Scientists pinpoint neural interactions that are necessary for observational learning Researchers have identified a brain circuit required to learn by watching others. This circuit,
Read more

War Leaves 17 Women for Every Man

Image
Source: Psychology Today This report of a "Y-chromosone Bottleneck" that occurred seven thousand years ago raises some interesting questions. In it, the author theorizes that war may have the effect of simplifying the male genome to the point that it's like having but one man for every 17 women.  Sounds like a male fantasy, but is it good for humanity and the potential for our survival on our planet? Research shows that healthy populations depend on genetic diversity such as in this report from 2015,  Genetic Diversity Linked to Today's Taller, Smarter People .  So if war has the effect of creating a male genome bottleneck, does the bottleneck limit the diversity needed to maintain a healthy population?  Could genetic bottlenecks be the reason that some militarily aggressive cultures such as the ancient Romans and Greeks are very peaceful today?  i.e., have they had the aggression breed out of them by years of wars in which the most warlike men died in bat
Read more