The Brain and Therapeutical Microgravity
June 19, 2023 | Raquel Paz Bergia | Neurology
Microgravity is when objects appear to be weightless. It can be seen when astronauts are in space and there is very little gravity and they begin to float. The evolution of the brain occurred on Earth, where the gravity is 9.8 m/s2. Therefore, how does microgravity affect the brain?
This article provides insight into the effects of gravity on the brain, how microgravity experimentation would help advance medicine, and what possible future therapeutic techniques can be developed.
Microgravity and its Effects on the Brain
Cardiovascular patterns change when the body is submitted to microgravity. As stated by NASA, “in microgravity, the heart changes it shape from an oval (like a water-filled balloon) to a round ball (an air filled balloon), and space causes atrophy of muscles that on Earth work to constrict the blood vessels, so they cannot control blood flow as well” (Johnson). This leads to a deteriorated blood flow to lower extremities, and an increased blood flow to the brain and upper limbs.
This change in blood flow affects astronauts in unique ways. Higher blood flow helps remove carbon dioxide and other waste products from the brain. It also helps increase the movement of oxygen to the brain, leading to increased cognitive function and processes.
Can brain issues that occur when people have low blood flow be resolved or improved under microgravity?
Microgravity in the International Space Station
The International Space Station dedicates their time to experimentation in space, as well as experimentation with microgravity. The ISS has the facility and technological resources necessary to comprehend how brains are impacted by low gravity. How are people living in space helped by microgravity? How can microgravity be used for people on Earth?
Experimentation with conserved brains and neurons could be used to show the brain transformation when it goes from Earth to space. It could also advance medical knowledge by providing information about how the brain adapts to this change, and how it can be beneficial to neural health. Moreover, brain simulations could help increase the research on microgravity as a therapeutic treatment for all forms of neurological disorders.
Another test that could be conducted would be with EEG scans on the astronauts living in the ISS. It could be done prior to them leaving for space and once they have spent some time in the space station. These EEG scans could also show the change in neurobiology due to the change in gravity.
Future Therapeutic Treatments
Future treatments for strokes, cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral hypoxia, and cerebral edema, as well as other disorders, could be developed through experimentation with microgravity in the ISS. These could be transferred later to Earth, and develop treatment facilities with microgravity rooms. These treatment clinics could also help people that have had brain trauma or sudden cardiac arrest regain their brain functions by increasing their blood flow to the brain. Heart diseases are responsible for 25% of global deaths and could be greatly reduced if treatment is available prior to a heart attack or cardiac arrest.
Not only that, but microgravity as a therapeutic treatment would have a large one-time cost, but long term it is more affordable than other forms of treatment already available in the market. It would also help increase the longevity and quality of life for people affected by neural and cardiac disorders.
Disclaimer:
All of the information shared in this article cannot be reinvented unless specific permission is granted from the original author. These ideas will be presented by Raquel Paz Bergia in the 2022 ISSET competitions and the author has full rights over the ideas presented.
Sources
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-microgravity-58.html
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/cciss_feature.html
https://www.healthline.com/health/cerebral-circulation#takeaway
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html