New research shows that if an astronaut were to travel to Mars, their brains would be bombarded with cognition-impairing particles.
A research team found exposures to highly energetic charged particles can damage the central nervous system, leading to cognitive impairment, the University of California, Irvine reported.
"This is not positive news for astronauts deployed on a two- to three-year round trip to Mars," said researcher Charles Limoli. "Performance decrements, memory deficits, and loss of awareness and focus during spaceflight may affect mission-critical activities, and exposure to these particles may have long-term adverse consequences to cognition throughout life."
To make their findings, the researchers exposed rodents to charged particle irradiation (fully ionized oxygen and titanium). They found exposure to these particles resulted in brain inflammation, which disrupted the transmission of signals between neurons. Imaging techniques revealed impairments in the brain's communication network through reductions in the structure of nerve cells called dendrites and spines. It also reduced the nerve cells' ability to efficiently transmit electrochemical signals. These changes led to a decreased performance on behavioral tasks that measure learning and memory.
A trip to Mars would expose astronauts to radiation for a long enough period of time to cause cognition deficits. The researchers hope to identify a way to protect astronauts should a mission to the Red Planet take place. One solution could be to design areas of increased shielding to be used for relaxation and sleep, but even so, some highly energetic particles would still breach the ship.
"We are working on pharmacologic strategies involving compounds that scavenge free radicals and protect neurotransmission," Limoli said. "But these remain to be optimized and are under development."
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Science Advances.
