Scientists document how space travel messes with the human brain

Space can be an unfriendly place for the human body, with microgravity conditions and other factors tampering with our physiology, from head to toe - head, of course, being a primary concern. Researchers said on Thursday that astronauts who traveled on the International Space Station or NASA space shuttles on missions lasting at least six months experienced significant expansion of the cerebral ventricles - spaces in the middle of the brain containing cerebrospinal fluid. This ventricular expansion likely compresses the surrounding brain tissue," University of Florida applied physiology and kinesiology professor and study senior author Rachael Seidler said. The fact that enlargement did not worsen after six months could be good news for future Mars missions on which astronauts may spend two years in microgravity during the journey. "This preliminary finding is promising for astronaut brain health during long-duration missions, but it's still important that we examine MRI data from a larger group of astronauts and following even longer missions," McGregor said.