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We came back astronauts, the volume of gray matter decreased.
An international group of scientists has found that extended stays in microgravity affect the brain and that the recovery period can last about a year.
The experts conducted a survey of 10 astronauts who flew 189 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging prior to flight to the ISS immediately upon their return to Earth and seven months after the end of the mission.
It turned out that astronauts returning to their country saw their gray matter volume consisting of neuron bodies decrease from the first scan. Seven months later, this figure did not become the same. In addition, prolonged exposure to microgravity increased cerebrospinal fluid content in the ventricles of the brain and subarachnoid space. This flow reduces the volume occupied by the white matter (composed of axon bundles) observed even months after the return of the ISS.
Scientists point out that, to date, these changes have not had a clear effect on the cognitive abilities of ISS crewmembers. However, it is known that during a long stay in weightlessness decreases visual acuity. This may be due to the increase in cerebrospinal fluid pressure on the retina and optic nerve.
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