Cosmonauts lose creativity: how weightlessness affects brain function

In anticipation of future travels to Mars, scientists are increasingly wondering how long a stay in space is dangerous to humans. For a long time in the preparation of such missions, scientists focused on studying the psychological climate inside a small isolated team. But recent studies have shown that the relationship between astronauts is not the main problem with long flights and alien missions. It turns out that under zero gravity the human brain begins to work in a completely different way than on Earth, and this, according to scientists, can make significant adjustments to space exploration.

The work of the human vestibular apparatus is directly related to gravity. In outer space or even, for example, on Mars, whose gravitational attraction is only 0.3 parts of the earth, the vestibular apparatus, and with it the work of the brain, encounters a number of difficulties. If we omit complex scientific terms, we can say that the brain perceives the vertical position of the body as a state of activity and wakefulness, and the horizontal as a state of rest. And under zero gravity, the human brain functions approximately as if the person was at rest.

Given this feature, scientists conducted a study of brain activity in a lying and standing position. It turned out that in solving similar problems a lying person, that is, at rest, is not inclined to experiment and makes decisions according to a pattern. Moreover, such a person often does not take into account advice or well-reasoned criticism from the outside. At the same time, in an upright position, the human brain is more active and is looking for original ways to solve its tasks. Based on this, scientists have suggested that astronauts, for a long time in a state of weightlessness, will behave in a similar way. Some relaxation of the brain is not so bad if everything goes according to plan, but in the event of an emergency, this can cause a serious mistake when the brain is unable to find the right solution.

Another problem that researchers note is also associated with the work of the brain, and more precisely with a change in its structure. The brain of a person in zero gravity rises and is pressed to the skull. In addition, there is an increase in cerebrospinal fluid, which literally squeezes various parts of the brain, worsening their work. The astronauts who spend a long time on the ISS have headaches and visual impairment. Scientists associate these consequences with changes in the structure of the brain due to the effect of weightlessness.

Thus, each new study shows that weightlessness is not as harmless to the human body as it might seem at first glance. At the same time, not only the musculoskeletal system, which finds itself in unusual conditions, but also the brain suffers. At the moment, researchers cannot solve this problem, and the only way to mitigate the consequences of the lack of gravity is to create artificial gravity for people. But here, from a technical point of view, not everything is so simple. Therefore, skeptics are not sure that the flight to Mars, which is planned for the 2030s, can even take place. Indeed, in the case of a long stay in zero gravity, and the mission to a neighboring planet will take several years, the human brain may simply not be able to withstand.