The adaptability of the developing nervous system to environmental influences and the mechanisms underlying this plasticity has recently become a subject of interest in space neuroscience. Ground studies on neonatal rats using the tail suspension model of weightlessness have shown that the force of gravity clearly influences the events underlying the postnatal development of motor function. These effects depend on the age of the animal, duration of the perturbation and the motor function studied. A nine-day flight study has shown that a dam and neonates can develop under conditions of space flight. The motor function of the flight animals after landing was consistent with that seen in the tail suspension studies, being marked by limb joint extension. However, there were expected differences due to: (1) the unloading of the vestibular system in flight, which did not occur in the ground-based experiments; (2) differences between flight and suspension durations; and (3) the inability to evaluate motor function during the flight. The next step is to conduct experiments in space with the flexibility and rigor that is now limited to ground studies: an opportunity offered by the International Space Station. Copyright 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Postnatal development under conditions of simulated weightlessness and space flight


    Contributors:
    Walton, K. (author)

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1998-11-01



    Type of media :

    Miscellaneous


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




    Postnatal development under conditions of simulated weightlessness and space flight

    Walton, K. / United States; National Aeronautics and Space Administration / Centre national d'etudes spatiales et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1998



    Exercise response to simulated weightlessness

    Sawin, C. F. / Rummel, J. A. / Buderer, M. C. | NTRS | 1979


    Muscle tonus under conditions of weightlessness

    Juganov, E. M. / Kas'jan, Ivan I. / Jazdovskij, V. I. | TIBKAT | 1963


    Sensorimotor coordination in extended weightlessness in actual space flight

    Bryanov, I. I. / Cherepakhin, M. A. / Kakurin, L. I. et al. | NTRS | 1964