Submitting Campus

Daytona Beach

Department

Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology

Document Type

Presentation without Video

Publication/Presentation Date

3-27-2019

Abstract/Description

A comprehensive understanding of the effects of spaceflight and altered gravity on human physiology is necessary for continued human space exploration and long-term space habitation. Spaceflight includes multiple factors such as microgravity, hyper gravity, ionizing radiation, physiological stress, and disrupted circadian rhythms and these have been shown to contribute to pathophysiological responses that target immunity, bone and muscle integrity, cardiovascular and nervous systems. In terrestrial conditions, some of these factors can lead to cancer and neuroimmunological disorders. In this study, we used a well-established spaceflight model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, to assess spaceflight-associated changes in the nervous system. We hypothesize that exposure to altered gravity triggers the oxidative stress response, leading to impairments in the nervous system. To test this hypothesis, we used two experimental paradigms: 1) hyper gravity, using the ground-based chronic acceleration model, and 2) spaceflight conditions, which includes exposure to microgravity and in-flight space 1g controls. In our ground studies, acute hyper gravity resulted in an induction of oxidative stress-related genes with an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) in fly brains. Additionally, we observed a depressed locomotor phenotype in these flies (p

Location

Dallas, TX

Paper Number

20190002151

Number of Pages

11

Additional Information

Dr. Paul was not affiliated with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at the time this paper was published.

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