Microgravity is an interesting phenomenon, which affects astronauts in space in many interesting ways. Although space travel has some effects on astronauts' bodies, such as the contraction of bones and muscles in a certain period of time, a new study shows that space travel will also have an impact on human brains.

According to a report funded by NASA and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a research team examined the brains of 34 astronauts before and after space travel. Among them, 18 stayed in the international space station for several months, and the rest 16 stayed on the space shuttle for 14 days on average. They found that microgravity has a significant impact on astronauts regardless of age or flight experience.

First of all, perhaps the most important thing that researchers have discovered is that in microgravity, the brain somehow floats to the top of the skull. Dr Donna Roberts, a neuroradiologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, and her colleagues reported this discovery. According to their report, the brain positions of all 12 long-term astronauts have also undergone similar changes. "

It is said that the floating brain will remain in an elevated position for many days after the astronauts return to Earth. It is not clear whether the brain will return to its original position, because after the second flight, the brain cannot scan again. At the same time, no short-term astronauts showed such changes. It is speculated that their brains may also float upwards, but due to the short flight time, everything may return to normal before the magnetic resonance scanning captures this phenomenon.

Another change is the part of the brain called the central sulcus, which separates the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex from the posterior parietal lobe, which becomes narrower. Of all the 18 long-term astronauts, 17 is, but of the 16 short-term astronauts, only three are. Roberts said that this phenomenon "may lead to functional changes", such as astronauts suddenly finding it difficult to adapt to microgravity in space.

Some people say that the negative change of cerebrospinal fluid flow is related to diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis, but whether it is the cause or the influencing factors is still unclear. At present, researchers will try to find the answer, because you can imagine that interstellar flight, such as a trip to Mars, will take a long time. It is useful to have such information.