Prolonged exposure to microgravity weakens the connection between the diencephalon and the lumbar cortex. This was reported by the press service of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
The human body is evolutionarily adapted to earthly conditions, and therefore life in space is a challenge to health. It is known that in weightlessness, calcium is washed out of the bones, there is weakness in the back muscles and the heart takes a more rounded shape.
Floris Veyts of the University of Antwerp and his colleagues from Russia and Western countries have identified another consequence of weightlessness. The study is based on MRI images of the brains of 13 Russian cosmonauts who visited the ISS in the 2010s.
“In the posterior cingulate cortex, the strength of the connections with different parts of the brain decreased. These changes continued for eight months after flight. Since the cingulate gyrus, together with the precuneus region, is the key node of the so-called passive brain network, changes in its connections have resulted in the general cerebral adaptation to unusual sensory sensations during spaceflight. “In addition, there was an increase in the number of connections between the angular gyri of the brain, and shifts in the structure of connections between the insular cortex and other parts of the brain were also revealed.
According to scientists, these changes arose as an adaptation in response to the need to constantly move (fly) in zero gravity. The authors emphasize that the described changes should not have significant negative consequences and are often similar to brain changes in representatives of other extreme professions.
ancient biologists showed scarlet anglerfish and other deep-sea fish.