Detecting neuroplastic changes in astronauts

Berger, Lila

Detecting neuroplastic changes in astronauts

dc.contributor.advisor	Iaria, Giuseppe
dc.contributor.author	Berger, Lila
dc.contributor.committeemember	Lebel, Catherine
dc.contributor.committeemember	Williams, Rebecca Jayde
dc.contributor.committeemember	Kam, Julia W. Y.
dc.date	2023-11
dc.date.accessioned	2023-07-06T18:18:43Z
dc.date.available	2023-07-06T18:18:43Z
dc.date.issued	2023-06
dc.description.abstract	Understanding the impact of space travel on the brain has become increasingly important as the space industry plans to send humans to Mars within the next decade. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research has indicated significant and inconsistent structural changes in the brains of astronauts as a result of spaceflight. Volumetric brain changes in astronauts have the potential to cause significant and even life-threatening consequences. Recently, research has demonstrated that reports of these volumetric changes may be corrupted by the upward shift of the brain within the skull and a redistribution of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) resulting from microgravity. This CSF shift may create errors in the classification of the dura mater from other various tissue types, producing erroneous claims of volumetric neuroplastic brain changes resulting from spaceflight. This research was developed with the aim of reducing these classification errors through the investigation of a variety of newer MRI scans and protocols that may better account for a physical displacement of the brain and CSF in the skull. Manual tissue segmentation was performed on the standard modality to provide a comparison measure. Automated tissue segmentation was performed in each modality. Dice coefficients were calculated, and a repeated measures factorial analysis of variance was performed, followed by paired-samples t-tests. Total grey matter volume measures were obtained, and a repeated-factorial analysis of variance as well as follow up comparisons were performed for this measure as well. The primary hypothesis for this work was not confirmed, as no certain modality consistently outperformed MPRAGE across all automated software. This research may help inform modality selection for astronauts, as well as caution reporting or interpreting neuroplastic brain changes in astronauts using standard methodology.
dc.identifier.citation	Berger, L. (2023). Detecting neuroplastic changes in astronauts (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/116705
dc.identifier.uri	https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/41547
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	dura
dc.subject	astronaut
dc.subject	cerebrospinal fluid
dc.subject	tissue segmentation
dc.subject.classification	Psychology
dc.title	Detecting neuroplastic changes in astronauts
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Psychology
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.