Rezaei Sahar, Seyedmirzaei Homa, Gharepapagh Esmaeil, Mohagheghfard Fateme, Hasankhani Zahra, Karbasi Mahsa, Delavari Sahar, Aarabi Mohammad Hadi
Clinical Research Development Unit of Tabriz Valiasr Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical School, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2024 Oct;18(5):1256-1279. doi: 10.1007/s11682-024-00894-7. Epub 2024 May 22.
Spaceflight-induced brain changes have been commonly reported in astronauts. The role of microgravity in the alteration of the brain structure, microstructure, and function can be tested with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. Here, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of Spaceflight studies exploring the potential role of brain alterations identified by MRI in astronauts. We conducted a search on PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus to find neuroimaging correlates of spaceflight experience using MRI. A total of 20 studies (structural MRI n = 8, diffusion-based MRI n = 2, functional MRI n = 1, structural MRI and diffusion-weighted MRI n = 6, structural MRI and functional MRI n = 3) met our inclusion criteria. Overall, the studies showed that regardless of the MRI techniques, mission duration significantly impacts the human brain, prompting the inclusion of various brain regions as features in the analyses. After spaceflight, notable alterations were also observed in the superior occipital gyrus and the precentral gyrus which show alterations in connectivity and activation during spaceflight. The results provided highlight the alterations in brain structure after spaceflight, the unique patterns of brain remodeling, the challenges in drawing unified conclusions, and the impact of microgravity on intracranial cerebrospinal fluid volume.
航天飞行引起的大脑变化在宇航员中已被普遍报道。微重力在大脑结构、微观结构和功能改变中的作用可以通过磁共振成像（MRI）技术进行测试。在此，我们旨在全面概述探索MRI识别的大脑改变在宇航员中的潜在作用的航天飞行研究。我们在PubMed、科学网和Scopus上进行了搜索，以寻找使用MRI的航天飞行经历的神经影像学关联。共有20项研究（结构MRI研究8项、基于扩散的MRI研究2项、功能MRI研究1项、结构MRI和扩散加权MRI研究6项、结构MRI和功能MRI研究3项）符合我们的纳入标准。总体而言，这些研究表明，无论采用何种MRI技术，任务持续时间都会对人类大脑产生显著影响，促使在分析中将各个脑区作为特征纳入。航天飞行后，在枕上回和中央前回也观察到明显变化，这些脑区在航天飞行期间显示出连接性和激活的改变。研究结果突出了航天飞行后大脑结构的改变、大脑重塑的独特模式、得出统一结论的挑战以及微重力对颅内脑脊液体积的影响。
