Abstract #4531

Diffusion MRI reveals macro- and microstructural changes in cosmonauts' brains after long-duration spaceflight

Steven Jilings¹, Angelique Van Ombergen², Elena Tomilovskaya³, Alena Rumshiskaya⁴, Liudmila Litvinova⁴, Inna Nosikova³, Ekaterina Pechenkova⁵, Ilya Rukavishnikov³, Inessa Kozlovskaya³, Stefan Sunaert⁶, Paul M Parizel⁷, Valentin Sinitsyn⁸, Victor Petrovichev⁴, Steven Laureys⁹, Peter zu Eulenburg¹⁰, Jan Sijbers¹¹, Floris Wuyts¹, and Ben Jeurissen¹¹

¹Lab for Equilibrium Investigations and Aerospace, Dept. of Physics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, ²Translations Neuroscience, Dept. of Medicine, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, ³Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation, ⁴Dept. of Radiology, Federal Center of Treatment and Rehabilitation, Moscow, Russian Federation, ⁵Laboratory for Cognitive Research, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation, ⁶Dept. of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, ⁷Dept. of Radiology, Royal Perth Hospital and University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, ⁸Faculty of Fundamental Medicine, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation, ⁹Coma Science Group, Dept. of Neurology, University (Hospital) of Liège, Liège, Belgium, ¹⁰German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, Dept. of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany, ¹¹imec - Vision Lab, Dept. of Physics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

There is currently limited information on the effects of spaceflight on the human brain. Therefore, we investigated longitudinal changes in gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) density and mass using diffusion MRI data acquired pre-flight, post-flight and at follow-up. Our results show redistributed CSF and concomitant GM morphological changes post-flight, which reverse at follow-up. At the same time, our results show no evidence of neurodegeneration. Moreover, GM and WM mass increased in sensorimotor brain regions post-flight, which largely persisted at follow-up. These results indicate, for the first time, sensorimotor neuroplasticity after spaceflight.

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