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Gualtierotti, T.

Publications and source records attributed to Gualtierotti, T..

9 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

Orbiting Frog Otolith experiment (OFO-A): Data reduction and control experimentation

The OFO-A mission was prepared as a part of a special program of vestibular physiology with the purpose of studying in which way the lack of the gravity pull will affect the functioning of that part of the labyrinth which controls balance. The gravitational components corresponded to the different head positions, namely, the gravity sensitive or positioning receptors. It is evident that in weightlessness the gravity sensitive receptors are deprived of their primary input.

Gualtierotti, T.↗
NASA NTRS1972

OFO experimental techniques and preliminary conclusions - Is artificial gravity needed during prolonged weightlessness.

The technique of single unit recording from body systems generating electrical pulses coherent with their basic function (CNS, muscles, sense organs) has been proved feasible during the OFO A orbital flight, an automatic physiological experiment. The results of recording 155 hours of orbital flight of pulses from the nerve fibres of four vestibular gravity sensors in two bull frogs indicate that the vestibular organ adjusts to zero g. As all the other biological changes observed during orbit are due to lack of exercise, it is concluded that artificial gravity might not be necessary during prolonged space missions or on low gravity celestial bodies.

Gualtierotti, T.↗