Space travel rewires astronauts' brains due to low gravity: Study

The human body must overcome many distinct difficulties in order to travel in space, including what amounts to brain rewiring.

According to a study published Friday in the journal Frontiers in Neural Circuits, astronauts' brains were modified for months after they returned to Earth after spending nearly six months in space.

Researchers completed diffusion MRI scans of 12 astronauts from the European Space Agency and Russia's Roscosmos, who spent an average of 172 days in space, before they departed, immediately after they returned, and, for some participants, a final scan seven months after they returned to Earth, using a brain imaging technique called fibre tractography.

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The corpus callosum, a portion of the brain that connects the organ's two hemispheres and serves as a "communication network," gets filled with fluid and grows as a result of spaceflight, but this is just a "real structural alteration," according to the researchers.

Other effects of spaceflight on astronauts have been extensively researched.

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The Human Research Program at NASA identified five primary dangers that astronauts might encounter if they spend a long time in space:

Isolation and confinement can affect their mood and potentially cause sleep disorders and stress, as well as a nutritional deficiency from a lack of fresh food; distance from Earth, which would require astronauts to handle any health emergencies on their own; the change in gravitational fields, which can affect the heart, bones, and muscles; and the hazardous environment in which a person could die.

Muscle atrophy is also a significant issue: According to NASA, astronauts who spend five to eleven days in space lose 20% of their muscle mass.

(With inputs from agencies)