ArticleNPJ microgravity2016
Brain structural plasticity with spaceflight.
Article in NPJ microgravity, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 83 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
83 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 148 citations in OpenAlex.
- The human brain in space: a meta-analysis of neuroimaging evidence.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of spaceflight experience on human brain structure, microstructure, and function: systematic review of neuroimaging studies.Brain imaging and behavior · 2024Pooled it
- Exercise effects on bed rest-induced brain changes.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Space Radiation and Cancer Risk in Astronauts: Models, Evidence, Uncertainties, and Emerging Imaging Perspectives.Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.) · 2026Review
- Neurological complications in microgravity and long duration spaceflight.NPJ microgravity · 2026Review
- Syn III participated in rTMS-modulated emotional rescue in the prefrontal cortex under simulated space composite environment.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Brain strain: Blood flow and metabolism in environmental extremes.Experimental physiology · 2026Review
- Sensory Deprivation and the Brain: Neurobiological Mechanisms, Psychological Effects, and Clinical Implications.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Brain displacement and nonlinear deformation following human spaceflight.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Gravity-awareness: a deep learning and LLM framework for predicting human adaptation to altered gravitational environments.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Neural activation is enhanced with operational task ecological validity during complex cognitive tasks.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Effects of seasonal factors on brain function: Systematic review and future perspectives.iScience · 2025Article
- Brain power comparison between microgravity and head-down tilt bed rest: an electroencephalography approach.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Multi-connectomics underpin emotional dysfunction in mouse exposed to simulated space composite environment.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Spaceflight and Ground-Based Microgravity Simulation Impact on Cognition and Brain Plasticity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Crewmember demographic factors and their association with brain and ocular changes following spaceflight.NPJ microgravity · 2025Article
- Navigating mental health in space: gut-brain axis and microbiome dynamics.Experimental & molecular medicine · 2025Review
- Brain and cerebrospinal fluid 3D center of mass shift after spaceflight.NPJ microgravity · 2025Article
- Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS) and its countermeasures.Progress in retinal and eye research · 2025Review
- Changes of EEG beta band power and functional connectivity during spaceflight: a retrospective study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Humans undergo extensive sensorimotor adaptation during spaceflight due to altered vestibular inputs and body unloading. No studies have yet evaluated the effects of spaceflight on human brain structure despite the fact that recently reported optic nerve structural changes are hypothesized to occur due to increased intracranial pressure occurring with microgravity. This is the first report on human brain structural changes with spaceflight. We evaluated retrospective longitudinal T2-weighted MRI scans and balance data from 27 astronauts (thirteen ~2-week shuttle crew members and fourteen ~6-month International Space Station crew members) to determine spaceflight effects on brain structure, and whether any pre to postflight brain changes are associated with balance changes. Data were obtained from the NASA Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health. Brain scans were segmented into gray matter maps and normalized into MNI space using a stepwise approach through subject specific templates. Non-parametric permutation testing was used to analyze pre to postflight volumetric gray matter changes. We found extensive volumetric gray matter decreases, including large areas covering the temporal and frontal poles and around the orbits. This effect was larger in International Space Station versus shuttle crew members in some regions. There were bilateral focal gray matter increases within the medial primary somatosensory and motor cortex; i.e., the cerebral areas where the lower limbs are represented. These intriguing findings are observed in a retrospective data set; future prospective studies should probe the underlying mechanisms and behavioral consequences.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.