Tibetan science popularization ｜ In space, the human brain re -"set up the array"

Author: Yang Yang

Source: "Knowledge is Power" magazine

Today, with the help of developed network technology, we can watch the live broadcast of the astronauts in the Tiangong Space Station in real time. Different from the ground, astronauts in space are always "floating". The human body has long been familiar with the gravity of the earth during the evolution. Some are not adapted. In the state of weightlessness in space, even the "headquarters" of the human body -the brain will have some unexpected changes, and the human brain has been "reshaped" in space. What is going on?

Since the 1950s, a large number of studies have confirmed that long -term space life will have an impact on the human body's metabolism, heat regulation, arrhythmia, muscle tension, bone density, and respiratory system. One of them is called visual obstacle intracranial compression syndrome, which is a space disease that can affect vision and cause headaches.

Maybe we can't imagine that the weight loss environment of space will also affect our brain. The root of this disease lies in the central processor (brain) of the human body. Although the visual obstacle intracranial compression syndrome was discovered very early and received people's attention, its pathogenesis was revealed until 2020. The reason is simple: the human brain shifted in space.

A astronaut's nuclear magnetic resonance imaging photo, compared with a long time before space flight (left) with the back (picture right), after space flight, the central groove of the astronaut's brain narrowed, and the encephaloprotic and brain protein expansion

Protect the liquid of the brain -cerebrospinal fluid

In fact, the human brain is not close to the skull growth. The brain is soaked in a stall of "water". This stall "water" is called the cerebrospinal fluid. There are about 150 ml, which is equivalent to half a box of milk. Don't underestimate this water in the brain, it can be greatly useful.

Human brain is the most important neurological organs of the body, and all advanced thinking activities are carried out here. There is also a highway that connects the brain -spinal cord. It is responsible for distributing the instructions of the brain. The cerebrospinal fluid surrounds and supports the entire brain and spinal cord, which is the position of the cerebrospinal fluid to help the brain. And the cerebrospinal fluid is updated every moment to help the brain take away metabolic waste. If the brain is a CPU (central processor), the cerebrospinal fluid is equivalent to coolant. And this coolant can help stabilize our brain, absorb part of the power when encountering foreign shocks, and play a certain protective role.

Cerebral spine diagram

The brain re -"set up the array"

Scientists have found that the astronauts that fly in space for a long time have changed the distribution of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. Among their heads, the lower brain area has more cerebrospinal fluids than the upper area. It means that in space, the astronaut's brain position has changed, and it has "improved" quietly.

What is the reason? Scientists have found that the directional sensing system may be failed.

We know that the direction of induction depends mainly on human ear stones. The earstone is located deep in the inner ear, which is a small "stone". However, this "stone" is not ordinary. There are complex sensory organs around the earstone that can rely on gravity and inertia to help people judge the direction and maintain balance. However, under the weight of space, the ears are also "floating". In this way, the brain will not find the direction, and naturally it cannot judge what changes have caused. As a result, the distribution of cerebrospinal fluid produced confusion, which led to changes in the position of the brain, and the metabolism of the cerebrospinal fluid of the brain also caused confusion. Generally speaking, astronauts have more cerebrospinal liquid than the earth residents who have not entered space. After staying in space for a long time, the brain spine structure is generated deep in the brain -the brain chamber will expand.

Ear Stone structure diagram

Another structure that produces changes is white quality.

Brain white quality helps humans handle vision and space, balance, vertical perception, and movement control information. Scientists believe that the pressure caused by increasing cerebrospinal fluid caused the water in the brain to be "pressed" into the brain white, which caused the brain whiteness to swell, which affects the sense of balance of astronauts.

The expansion of the cerebrospinal fluid and white quality, naturally requires other structures to shrink. The narrowing is the aerial pituitary of the astronaut, which is a structure that secretes various important hormones. And this impact on human metabolism activities is more.

White -quality structure diagram

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