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New Orleans (October 27, 2018) – Comparative Physiology: Complexity and Integration Conference in New York Orleans.
To survive times when they are low, some animals enter hibernation – a physiological process that reduces their normal metabolism to low levels for days or weeks at a time. These periods of low metabolism, known as torpor, allow the animal's body temperature to fall to just above the temperature, thus conserving energy. Humans do not naturally undergo torpor, but scientists are interested in the idea of producing states of "synthetic" torpor in certain situations, including spaceflight, explained symposium chair Hannah Carey, PhD, from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. "Harnessing naturally evolved torpor to benefit human spaceflight." "Dr. Matthew Regan, PhD, also from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine and symposium co-chair.
The symposium will explore how it could be induced by the brain, its similarities and differences to sleep, and how it could benefit astronauts. Speakers will include Carey; Matteo Cerri, MD, PhD, from the University of Bologna in Italy; Vladyslav Vyazovskiy, PhD, from the University of Oxford in the U.K .; and astronaut Jessica Meir, PhD, from NASA.
Studying hibernation in mammals – how they are able to reduce their body temperature and metabolism – can also help to treat traumatic medical events, such as stroke, cardiac arrest and severe blood loss. Animals that use a natural resistance to various injuries. They are also resistant to radiation injury – such a resistance would be particularly beneficial to humans in deep space. Carey will discuss the use of synthetic hypothermia-based methods to treat trauma patients. She will also discuss how to hibernate research.
How the nervous system reduces metabolic activity during torpor is unknown. However, many of the organs that regulate metabolism are controlled by nerve cells (neurons) located in the pallidus raphe, an area of the brain that controls the production of heat in mammals. "For an animal to enter torpor, the neurons within the pallid pallidus have been inhibited," Cerri explained. If they are not suppressed, "their activity would counteract the hypothermia induced by torpor," he said. Cerri will present preliminary results identifying neurons projecting the pallidus and involved in torpor-related activity.
Defining the relationship between sleep and torpor has been controversial, but the two states seem to be intimately linked because of the neuronal connections they share. Research suggests that lack of food sources can cause mammals to conserve energy and lower their body temperature, two hallmark characteristics of torpor. However, "it is known about the specific fasting-related signals which initiates entry into torpor," Vyazovskiy said. He will discuss the connection between sleep and torpor.
Some of the physiological adaptations that animals exhibit – such as the low-oxygen environments that are important to the experience of diving. Understanding how animals adapt in extreme conditions may play a positive role in human medical science, especially in the "extreme environment of space," Meir said. The Incredible Possibility of Traveling to Mars – a science fiction story – the importance of having a long history of spaceflight, having ample supply of food, water and breathable air. Finding a way to induce torpor in humans could help protect against astronauts from harmful radiation. Meir's talk will provide insight from her unique perspective and experience as an astronaut, discussing the architecture for NASA's current and future human spaceflight missions.
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