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Researchers will be meeting today to discuss the potential for hibernation and the associated process, torpor, in the area of human health during space flights during the conference Comparative Physiology: Complexity and Integration with the American Physiological Society ( APS) in New Orleans.
To survive when food is scarce and temperatures are low, some animals go into hibernation – a physiological process that reduces their normal metabolism to low levels for days or weeks. These periods of low metabolism, known as torpor, allow the body temperature of the animal to drop just above the ambient air temperature, thus saving energy. Humans are not naturally subject to torpor, but scientists are interested in producing "synthetic" torpor states in certain situations, including spaceflight, said Hannah Carey symposium co-chair. PhD from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin. "Exploit the naturally evolved torpor to enjoy human spaceflight." "A synthetic torpor could protect astronauts from space-related health hazards and at the same time reduce space, mass and power requirements for spacecraft," said Matthew Regan, PhD, also of the Canadian Space Agency. School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin and co-chair of the symposium.
The symposium will explore how the brain could induce synthetic torpor, its similarities and differences with respect to sleep, and the benefits it could bring to astronauts. Carey will be one of the speakers. Matteo Cerri, MD, PhD, from the University of Bologna in Italy; Vladyslav Vyazovskiy, Ph.D., from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom; and astronaut Jessica Meir, PhD, of NASA.
The study of hibernation in mammals – how they can safely reduce their body temperature and their metabolism for long periods – can also help treat people who are victims of traumatic medical events, such as that ACV, cardiac arrest and significant blood loss. Animals that use torpor have natural resistance to various injuries that may occur due to lack of blood circulation. They are also resistant to radiation damage – such resistance would be particularly beneficial to humans in far-off places. Carey will explain why the use of synthetic torpor based on the biology of natural hibernators is preferable to current medical practices that use hypothermia-based methods to treat traumatized patients. It will also explain how hibernation research can identify how to create a synthetic torpor for space travel.
It is not known how the nervous system reduces metabolic activity during torpor. However, many metabolic-regulating organs are controlled by nerve cells (neurons) in raphe pallidus, a brainstem area that controls heat production in mammals. "In order for an animal to go into torpor, the raphe pallidus neurons must be inhibited," Cerri said. If the function in these cells is not removed, "their activity counteracts the hypothermia induced by the torpor," he said. Cerri will present the preliminary results identifying the neurons projecting on the raphe pallidus and involved in activity related to torpor.
The definition of the relationship between sleep and torpor has been controversial, but the two states seem to be intimately linked because of the neural connections they share. Research suggests that lack of available food sources can cause mammals to conserve energy and lower body temperature, two hallmarks of torpor. However, "we know less about the specific signals related to fasting that initiate the entrance into torpor," Vyazovskiy said. He will discuss the link between sleep and torpor and why more research is needed to determine how torpor affects brain function in animals.
Some of the physiological adaptations that animals present, such as low-oxygen environments that have seals and penguins in deep diving or birds during a high-altitude flight, are impossible for them. 39; man. Understanding how animals adapt under extreme conditions can play a positive role in human medical science, particularly in "the extreme environment of space," Meir said. The ever-growing possibility of traveling on Mars – once a mere science fiction story – underscores the need to address the factors that have hindered the feasibility of long-term space flight, including an adequate supply of food , in water and breathable air. Finding a way to induce torpor in humans could help eliminate limiting factors and protect astronauts from harmful radiation. Meir's presentation will provide insight into his unique perspective and experience as an astronaut, addressing the architecture of NASA's current and future human space flight missions.
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