@article {2074, title = {Macro- and microstructural changes in cosmonauts{\textquoteright} brains after long-duration spaceflight}, journal = {Science Advances}, volume = {6}, year = {2020}, month = {Apr-09-2020}, pages = {eaaz9488}, abstract = {Long-duration spaceflight causes widespread physiological changes, although its effect on brain structure remains poorly understood. In this work, we acquired diffusion magnetic resonance imaging to investigate alterations of white matter (WM), gray matter (GM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compositions in each voxel, before, shortly after, and 7 months after long-duration spaceflight. We found increased WM in the cerebellum after spaceflight, providing the first clear evidence of sensorimotor neuroplasticity. At the region of interest level, this increase persisted 7 months after return to Earth. We also observe a widespread redistribution of CSF, with concomitant changes in the voxel fractions of adjacent GM. We show that these GM changes are the result of morphological changes rather than net tissue loss, which remained unclear from previous studies. Our study provides evidence of spaceflight-induced neuroplasticity to adapt motor strategies in space and evidence of fluid shift{\textendash}induced mechanical changes in the brain.}, doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aaz9488}, url = {https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/36/eaaz9488}, author = {Jillings, Steven and Angelique Van Ombergen and Tomilovskaya, Elena and Rumshiskaya, Alena and Litvinova, Liudmila and Nosikova, Inna and Pechenkova, Ekaterina and Rukavishnikov, Ilya and Kozlovskaya, Inessa B. and Manko, Olga and Danilichev, Sergey and Stefan Sunaert and Paul M Parizel and Sinitsyn, Valentin and Petrovichev, Victor and Laureys, Steven and zu Eulenburg, Peter and Jan Sijbers and Floris L Wuyts and Ben Jeurissen} } @article {1941, title = {Brain ventricular volume changes induced by long-duration spaceflight}, journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, volume = {116}, year = {2019}, pages = {10531-10536}, abstract = {Long-duration spaceflight induces detrimental changes in human physiology due to microgravity. One example is a cephalic fluid shift. Here, we prospectively investigated the quantitative changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume of the brain ventricular regions in space crew by means of a region of interest, observer-independent analysis on structural brain MRI scans. MRI scans were collected before the mission, shortly after and 7 mo after return to Earth. We found a significant increase in lateral and third ventricles at postflight and a trend to normalization at follow-up, but still significantly increased ventricular volumes. The observed spatiotemporal pattern of CSF compartment enlargement and recovery points to a reduced CSF resorption in microgravity as the underlying cause.Long-duration spaceflight induces detrimental changes in human physiology. Its residual effects and mechanisms remain unclear. We prospectively investigated the changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume of the brain ventricular regions in space crew by means of a region of interest analysis on structural brain scans. Cosmonaut MRI data were investigated preflight (n = 11), postflight (n = 11), and at long-term follow-up 7 mo after landing (n = 7). Post hoc analyses revealed a significant difference between preflight and postflight values for all supratentorial ventricular structures, i.e., lateral ventricle (mean \% change {\textpm} SE = 13.3 {\textpm} 1.9), third ventricle (mean \% change {\textpm} SE = 10.4 {\textpm} 1.1), and the total ventricular volume (mean \% change {\textpm} SE = 11.6 {\textpm} 1.5) (all P \< 0.0001), with higher volumes at postflight. At follow-up, these structures did not quite reach baseline levels, with still residual increases in volume for the lateral ventricle (mean \% change {\textpm} SE = 7.7 {\textpm} 1.6; P = 0.0009), the third ventricle (mean \% change {\textpm} SE = 4.7 {\textpm} 1.3; P = 0.0063), and the total ventricular volume (mean \% change {\textpm} SE = 6.4 {\textpm} 1.3; P = 0.0008). This spatiotemporal pattern of CSF compartment enlargement and recovery points to a reduced CSF resorption in microgravity as the underlying cause. Our results warrant more detailed and longer longitudinal follow-up. The clinical impact of our findings on the long-term cosmonauts{\textquoteright} health and their relation to ocular changes reported in space travelers requires further prospective studies.}, issn = {0027-8424}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.1820354116}, url = {https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/05/01/1820354116}, author = {Angelique Van Ombergen and Steven Jillings and Ben Jeurissen and Tomilovskaya, Elena and Alena Rumshiskaya and Liudmila Litvinova and Nosikova, Inna and Ekaterina V. Pechenkova and Ilya Rukavishnikov and Manko, Olga and Danylichev, Sergey and R{\"u}hl, R. Maxine and Inessa B. Kozlovskaya and Stefan Sunaert and Paul M Parizel and Valentin Sinitsyn and Steven S L Laureys and Jan Sijbers and zu Eulenburg, Peter and Floris L Wuyts} }