Space and Neural Cell: The Impact of Space Environment on Neurological Function and Their Molecular Mechanistic Insights

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Background

With the rapid advancement of technology and industrialization, it is becoming increasingly urgent for humans to search for extra-terrestrial energy sources and develop more living space. As early as the late 1950s, the Soviet Union and the United States launched missions for deep space research that increased with time and lengthened deep space explorations from a few days to many months or even years to make space tourism possible. As a result, exposure to extreme circumstances in space, such as high-energy radiation, microgravity, isolation, disturbed circadian cycles, and noise pollution, has become a major concern for space-faring nations for deep space missions, posing serious health issues to astronauts. These stressors are reported to negatively impact the astronaut’s central nervous system (CNS), affecting their physiology, psychology, and operational activity during long space missions. However, the complete impact of these space-flight stressors on the CNS and associated neurobiological changes in astronauts is still unknown and require further investigations for successful future space missions.

The fluid shift in space alters the brain’s anatomy and function, leading to long-term complications like increased risk of brain malignancies, premature aging, and accelerated neurodegeneration. Unfortunately, limited studies, astronauts’ neuronal samples, and data unavailability have hampered researchers from identifying underlying neurobiological changes due to space-flight stressors impacting their cognitive and work performances. These concerns necessitate more studies using astronaut data before and after space missions, terrestrial space analogs, or neuronal cell-line models to foresee the underlying molecular neurological mechanisms prone to space-flight stressors.

As evidenced by NASA’s recent reports indicating the presence of molecular alterations in CNS after space missions, understanding extended neurobiological changes of the CNS after space environment exposure will not only help in identifying effective countermeasures for successful future human spaceflight missions but also provides an opportunity to address scientific issues in a unique environment to benefit humans on earth. Therefore, to make rapid progress in space neurobiology, this research topic aims to evaluate the novel molecular mechanisms of acute and delayed effects on CNS induced by the space environment.

The primary objective of this Research Topic is to collect research articles, reviews articles, short communications, case reports, and perspectives on 1) neurological studies on space crews, 2) neuronal investigations using simulated space models (terrestrial space analogs), 3) countermeasures against adverse effects of spaceflight on the brain/behavior, 4) terrestrial clinical research models relevant to spaceflight.

Specifically, contributions on the following topics are welcome:
- Spaceflight associated neurological modifications (e.g., MRI scans, peripheral neurological biomarkers using body fluids of astronauts such as blood, plasma, serum and urine etc.)
- Spaceflight induced neuro-cognitive/behavioral changes as studied through earth-based analogs (e.g.; for humans, head-down bed rest, parabolic flights, dry immersion, etc. and for animals, hind-limb unloading model or other simulated space models)
- Spaceflight induced neuronal changes at molecular levels (e.g. proteomics, genomics and epigenomics levels), cellular level (e.g. cell to cell communication) and tissue level (e.g. functional and morphological changes)
- Earth-based clinical models (e.g. patients undergoing radiations, depression and vestibular disorders, etc.) to identify early biomarkers and target genes to overcome irreversible damage due to spaceflight
- Spaceflight countermeasures at molecular level (e.g. investigating neuro-protective biomarkers or underlying molecular pathways against spaceflight hazards or strategies to overcome toxic neurobiological changes particularly in three domains. i.e., microgravity neurobiology, radiation neurobiology and space in orbit neurobiology to promote brain health

Keywords: space environment, molecular mechanisms, dysfunction, neuron, neuroglia, diagnosis, therapeutics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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