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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Effects of suspension-induced osteopenia on the mechanical behaviour of mouse long bones

Whereas most studies of tail-suspension induced osteopenia have utilized rat femora, the present study investigated the effects of a 14 day tail-suspension on the mechanical behaviour of mice femora, tibiae and humeri. Force-deflection properties were obtained via three-point bending for long bones from suspended and control mice. Whole bone behaviour was characterized by converting the force-deflection values to stiffness, strength, ductility and energy parameters which were not normalized for specimen geometry. The effects of a systematic variation in the deflection rate over the range 0.1-10 mm min-1 were also evaluated. Statistical analysis indicated that the primary effect of the tail-suspension period was lowered bone mass which was manifested mechanically through lower values of the bone strength parameters. These effects were similar in the bones of both the fore and hind limbs. The results also demonstrated that the stiffness, ductility and energy characteristics were much less influenced by the tail-suspension. Whereas a significant dependence of the bone strength values upon deflection rate was observed for the femora and humeri, the other mechanical parameters were less sensitive. Based upon the nature of the physical and mechanical changes observed in the long bones following tail-suspension, the mouse appears to be a suitable animal model for the study of osteopenia.

NASA Discipline Number 93-10↗
NASA NTRS1996

Noninvasive markers of bone metabolism in the rhesus monkey: normal effects of age and gender

Measurement of bone turnover in conditions such as osteoporosis has been limited by the need for invasive iliac bone biopsy to reliably determine parameters of bone metabolism. Recent advances in the area of serum and urinary markers of bone metabolism have raised the possibility for noninvasive measurements; however, little nonhuman primate data exist for these parameters. The purpose of this experiment was to define the normal range and variability of several of the newer noninvasive bone markers which are currently under investigation in humans. The primary intent was to determine age and gender variability, as well as provide some normative data for future experiments in nonhuman primates. Twenty-four rhesus macaques were divided into equal groups of male and female according to the following age groupings: 3 years, 5-10 years, 15-20 years, and > 25 years. Urine was collected three times daily for a four-day period and measured for several markers of bone turnoverm including pyridinoline (PYD), deoxypyrodinoline (DPD), hydroxyproline, and creatinine. Bone mineral density measurements of the lumbar spine were performed at the beginning and end of the study period. Serum was also obtained at the time of bone densitometry for measurement of osteocalcin levels by radioimmunoassay. There were no significant differences in bone mineral density, urine PYD, or urine DPD based on gender. Bone density was lowest in the youngest animals, peaked in the 15-20-year group, but again decreased in the oldest animals. The osteocalcin, PYD, and DPD levels followed an inversely related pattern to bone density. The most important result was the relative age insensitivity of the ratio of PYD:DPD in monkeys up to age 20 years. Since bone density changes take months or years to become measurable and iliac biopsies are invasive, the PYD/DPD marker ratio may have important implications for rapid noninvasive measurement of the effects of potential treatments for osteoporosis in the non-human primate model.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗
NASA NTRS2016

Effect of Dietary Countermeasures and Impact of Gravity on Renal Calculi Size Distributions Predicted by PBE-System and PBE-CFD Models

Renal stone disease is not only a concern on earth but can conceivably pose a serious risk to the astronauts health and safety in Space. In this work, two different deterministic models based on a Population Balance Equation (PBE) analysis of renal stone formation are developed to assess the risks of critical renal stone incidence for astronauts during space travel. In the first model, the nephron is treated as a continuous mixed suspension mixed product removal crystallizer and the PBE for the nucleating, growing and agglomerating renal calculi is coupled to speciation calculations performed by JESS. Predictions of stone size distributions in the kidney using this model indicate that the astronaut in microgravity is at noticeably greater but still subcritical risk and recommend administration of citrate and augmented hydration as effective means of minimizing and containing this risk. In the second model, the PBE analysis is coupled to a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model for flow of urine and transport of Calcium and Oxalate in the nephron to predict the impact of gravity on the stone size distributions. Results presented for realistic 3D tubule and collecting duct geometries, clearly indicate that agglomeration is the primary mode of size enhancement in both 1g and microgravity. 3D numerical simulations seem to further indicate that there will be an increased number of smaller stones developed in microgravity that will likely pass through the nephron in the absence of wall adhesion. However, upon reentry to a 1g (Earth) or 38g (Mars) partial gravitational fields, the renal calculi can lag behind the urinary flow in tubules that are adversely oriented with respect to the gravitational field and grow agglomerate to large sizes that are sedimented near the wall with increased propensity for wall adhesion, plaque formation, and risk to the astronauts.

Renal Stones↗
NASA NTRS1992

Investigation of anti-motion sickness drugs in the squirrel monkey

Early attempts to develop an animal model for anti-motion sickness drugs, using dogs and cats; were unsuccessful. Dogs did not show a beneficial effect of scopolamine (probably the best single anti-motion sickness drug for humans thus far) and the findings in cats were not definitive. The authors have developed an animal model using the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) of the Bolivian phenotype. Unrestrained monkeys in a small lucite cage were tested in an apparatus that induces motion sickness by combining vertical oscillation and horizontal rotation in a visually unrestricted laboratory environment. Signs of motion sickness were scored using a rating scale. Ten susceptible monkeys (weighing 800-1000 g) were given a total of five tests each, to establish the baseline susceptibility level. Based on the anticholinergic activity of scopolamine, the sensitivity of squirrel monkey to scopolamine was investigated, and the appropriate dose of scopolamine for this species was determined. Then various anti-motion sickness preparations were administered in subsequent tests: 100 ug scopolamine per monkey; 140 ug dexedrine; 50 ug scopolamine plus 70 ug dexedrine; 100 ug scopolamine plus 140 ug dexedrine; 3 mg promethazine; 3 mg promethazine plus 3 mg ephedrine. All these preparations were significantly effective in preventing motion sickness in the monkeys. Ephedrine, by itself, which is marginally effective in humans, was ineffective in the monkeys at the doses tried (0.3-6.0 mg). The squirrel monkey appears to be a good animal model for antimotion sickness drugs. Peripherally acting antihistamines such as astemizole and terfenadine were found to be ineffective, whereas flunarizine, and an arginine vasopressin V1 antagonist, showed significant activity in preventing motion sickness.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
NASA NTRS1997

Cortical neuronal cytoskeletal changes associated with FIV infection

HIV-1 infection is often complicated by central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Degenerative neuronal changes as well as neuronal loss have been documented in individuals with AIDS. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection of cats provides a model for both the immune and the central nervous system manifestations of HIV infection of humans. In this study we have examined neurons in the frontal cortex of feline immunodeficiency virus-infected cats and controls for immunoreactivity with SMI 32, an antibody recognizing a non-phosphorylated epitope on neurofilaments. We noted a significant increase in the number of immunoreactive pyramidal cells in infected animals compared to controls. The changes seen in the neuronal cytoskeleton as a consequence of the inoculation with FIV were similar to those seen in humans undergoing the normal aging process as well as those suffering from neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's and dementia pugilistica. The changes we noted in the feline brain were also similar to that reported in animals with traumatic injuries or with spontaneously occurring or induced motor neuron diseases, suggesting that the increase in reactivity represents a deleterious effect of FIV on the central nervous system.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2021

Spatiotemporal Associations Between Social Vulnerability, Environmental Measurements, and COVID-19 in the Conterminous United States

This study summarizes the results from fitting a Bayesian hierarchical spatiotemporal model to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths at the county level in the United States for the year 2020. Two models were created, one for cases and one for deaths, utilizing a scaled Besag, York, Mollié model with Type I spatial-temporal interaction. Each model accounts for 16 social vulnerability and 7 environmental variables as fixed effects. The spatial pattern between COVID-19 cases and deaths is significantly different in many ways. The spatiotemporal trend of the pandemic in the United States illustrates a shift out of many of the major metropolitan areas into the United States Southeast and Southwest during the summer months and into the upper Midwest beginning in autumn. Analysis of the major social vulnerability predictors of COVID-19 infection and death found that counties with higher percentages of those not having a high school diploma, having non-White status and being Age 65 and over to be significant. Among the environmental variables, above ground level temperature had the strongest effect on relative risk to both cases and deaths. Hot and cold spots, areas of statistically significant high and low COVID-19 cases and deaths respectively, derived from the convolutional spatial effect show that areas with a high probability of above average relative risk have significantly higher Social Vulnerability Index composite scores. The same analysis utilizing the spatiotemporal interaction term exemplifies a more complex relationship between social vulnerability, environmental measurements, COVID-19 cases, and COVID-19 deaths.

spatial epidemiology↗
NASA NTRS2005

Transcriptional profile of a myotube starvation model of atrophy

Skeletal muscle wasting is a pervasive phenomenon that can result from a wide range of pathological conditions as well as from habitual muscular inactivity. The present work describes a cell-culture condition that induces significant atrophy in skeletal muscle C2C12 myotubes. The failure to replenish differentiation media in mature myotubes leads to rapid atrophy (53% in diameter), which is referred to here as starvation. Affymetrix microarrays were used to develop a transcriptional profile of control (fed) vs. atrophied (nonfed) myotubes. Myotube starvation was characterized by an upregulation of genes involved in translational inhibition, amino acid biosynthesis and transport, and cell cycle arrest/apoptosis, among others. Downregulated genes included several structural and regulatory elements of the extracellular matrix as well as several elements of Wnt/frizzled and TGF-beta signaling pathways. Interestingly, the characteristic transcriptional upregulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, calpains, and cathepsins known to occur in multiple in vivo models of atrophy were not seen during myotube starvation. With the exception of the downregulation of extracellular matrix genes, serine protease inhibitor genes, and the upregulation of the translation initiation factor PHAS-I, this model of atrophy in cell culture has a transcriptional profile quite distinct from any study published to date with atrophy in whole muscle. These data show that, although the gross morphology of atrophied muscle fibers may be similar in whole muscle vs. myotube culture, the processes by which this phenotype is achieved differ markedly.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗
NASA NTRS2001

Animal models for osteoporosis

Animal models will continue to be important tools in the quest to understand the contribution of specific genes to establishment of peak bone mass and optimal bone architecture, as well as the genetic basis for a predisposition toward accelerated bone loss in the presence of co-morbidity factors such as estrogen deficiency. Existing animal models will continue to be useful for modeling changes in bone metabolism and architecture induced by well-defined local and systemic factors. However, there is a critical unfulfilled need to develop and validate better animal models to allow fruitful investigation of the interaction of the multitude of factors which precipitate senile osteoporosis. Well characterized and validated animal models that can be recommended for investigation of the etiology, prevention and treatment of several forms of osteoporosis have been listed in Table 1. Also listed are models which are provisionally recommended. These latter models have potential but are inadequately characterized, deviate significantly from the human response, require careful choice of strain or age, or are not practical for most investigators to adopt. It cannot be stressed strongly enough that the enormous potential of laboratory animals as models for osteoporosis can only be realized if great care is taken in the choice of an appropriate species, age, experimental design, and measurements. Poor choices will results in misinterpretation of results which ultimately can bring harm to patients who suffer from osteoporosis by delaying advancement of knowledge.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
NASA NTRS2001

Controlling Malaria and Other Diseases Using Remote Sensing

Remote sensing offers the vantage of monitoring a vast area of the Earth continuously. Once developed and launched, a satellite gives years of service in collecting data from the land, the oceans, and the atmosphere. Since the 1980s, attempts have been made to relate disease occurrence with remotely sensed environmental and geophysical parameters, using data from Landsat, SPOT, AVHRR, and other satellites. With higher spatial resolution, the recent satellite sensors provide a new outlook for disease control. At sub-meter to I 10m resolution, surface types associated with disease carriers can be identified more accurately. The Ikonos panchromatic sensor with I m resolution, and the Advanced Land Imager with 1 Om resolution on the newly launched Earth Observing-1, both have displayed remarkable mapping capabilities. In addition, an entire array of geophysical parameters can now be measured or inferred from various satellites. Airborne remote sensing, with less concerns on instrument weight, size, and power consumption, also offers a low-cost alternative for regional applications. NASA/GSFC began to collaborate with the Mahidol University on malaria and filariasis control using remote sensing in late 2000. The objectives are: (1) To map the breeding sites for the major vector species; (2) To identify the potential sites for larvicide and insecticide applications; (3) To explore the linkage of vector population and transmission intensity to environmental variables; (4) To monitor the impact of climate change and human activities on vector population and transmission; and (5) To develop a predictive model for disease distribution. Field studies are being conducted in several provinces in Thailand. Data analyses will soon begin. Malaria data in South Korea are being used as surrogates for developing classification techniques. GIS has been shown to be invaluable in making the voluminous remote sensing data more readily understandable. It will be used throughout this study to clearly demonstrate the spatial relationship between the disease intensities, geophysical variables, and socioeconomic parameters. Asides from malaria and filariasis, application of remote sensing to the control of other diseases have been vigorously pursued by NASA's Environment and Health Initiative. The current program includes projects on Rift Valley fever, St. Louis encephalitis, dengue fever, ebola, African dust and diseases, meningitis, asthma, bartonellosis, cholera, and urban health concerns. Results from these projects indicate that remote sensing will play an increasingly important role in disease control in the future.

Kiang, Richard K.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Laparoscopic surgery in weightlessness

BACKGROUND: Performing a surgical procedure in weightlessness has been shown not to be any more difficult than in a 1g environment if the requirements for the restraint of the patient, operator, and surgical hardware are observed. The feasibility of performing a laparoscopic surgical procedure in weightlessness, however, has been questionable. Concerns have included the impaired visualization from the lack of gravitational retraction of the bowel and from floating debris such as blood. METHODS: In this project, laparoscopic surgery was performed on a porcine animal model in the weightlessness of parabolic flight. RESULTS: Visualization was unaffected due to the tethering of the bowel by the elastic mesentery and the strong tendency for debris and blood to adhere to the abdominal wall due to surface tension forces. CONCLUSIONS: There are advantages to performing a laparoscopic instead of an open surgical procedure in a weightless environment. These will become important as the laparoscopic support hardware is miniaturized from its present form, as laparoscopic technology becomes more advanced, and as more surgically capable crew medical officers are present in future long-duration space-exploration missions.

manned↗
NASA NTRS2003

Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma in weightlessness: a feasibility study

BACKGROUND: The Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) examines for fluid in gravitationally dependent regions. There is no prior experience with this technique in weightlessness, such as on the International Space Station, where sonography is currently the only diagnostic imaging tool. STUDY DESIGN: A ground-based (1 g) porcine model for sonography was developed. We examined both the feasibility and the comparative performance of the FAST examination in parabolic flight. Sonographic detection and fluid behavior were evaluated in four animals during alternating weightlessness (0 g) and hypergravity (1.8 g) periods. During flight, boluses of fluid were incrementally introduced into the peritoneal cavity. Standardized sonographic windows were recorded. Postflight, the video recordings were divided into 169 20-second segments for subsequent interpretation by 12 blinded ultrasonography experts. Reviewers first decided whether a video segment was of sufficient diagnostic quality to analyze (determinate). Determinate segments were then analyzed as containing or not containing fluid. A probit regression model compared the probability of a positive fluid diagnosis to actual fluid levels (0 to 500 mL) under both 0-g and 1.8-g conditions. RESULTS: The in-flight sonographers found real-time scanning and interpretation technically similar to that of terrestrial conditions, as long as restraint was maintained. On blinded review, 80% of the recorded ultrasound segments were considered determinate. The best sensitivity for diagnosis in 0 g was found to be from the subhepatic space, with probability of a positive fluid diagnosis ranging from 9% (no fluid) to 51% (500 mL fluid). CONCLUSIONS: The FAST examination is technically feasible in weightlessness, and merits operational consideration for clinical contingencies in space.

NASA Discipline Life Sciences Technologies↗
NASA NTRS2003

Real-time three-dimensional color doppler evaluation of the flow convergence zone for quantification of mitral regurgitation: Validation experimental animal study and initial clinical experience

BACKGROUND: Pitfalls of the flow convergence (FC) method, including 2-dimensional imaging of the 3-dimensional (3D) geometry of the FC surface, can lead to erroneous quantification of mitral regurgitation (MR). This limitation may be mitigated by the use of real-time 3D color Doppler echocardiography (CE). Our objective was to validate a real-time 3D navigation method for MR quantification. METHODS: In 12 sheep with surgically induced chronic MR, 37 different hemodynamic conditions were studied with real-time 3DCE. Using real-time 3D navigation, the radius of the largest hemispherical FC zone was located and measured. MR volume was quantified according to the FC method after observing the shape of FC in 3D space. Aortic and mitral electromagnetic flow probes and meters were balanced against each other to determine reference MR volume. As an initial clinical application study, 22 patients with chronic MR were also studied with this real-time 3DCE-FC method. Left ventricular (LV) outflow tract automated cardiac flow measurement (Toshiba Corp, Tokyo, Japan) and real-time 3D LV stroke volume were used to quantify the reference MR volume (MR volume = 3DLV stroke volume - automated cardiac flow measurement). RESULTS: In the sheep model, a good correlation and agreement was seen between MR volume by real-time 3DCE and electromagnetic (y = 0.77x + 1.48, r = 0.87, P <.001, delta = -0.91 +/- 2.65 mL). In patients, real-time 3DCE-derived MR volume also showed a good correlation and agreement with the reference method (y = 0.89x - 0.38, r = 0.93, P <.001, delta = -4.8 +/- 7.6 mL). CONCLUSIONS: real-time 3DCE can capture the entire FC image, permitting geometrical recognition of the FC zone geometry and reliable MR quantification.

Validation Studies↗
NASA NTRS2000

Antiorthostatic suspension for 14 days does not diminish the oxidative response of neutrophils in mice

The effects of long-term spaceflight on inflammatory responses have not been well-studied in either humans or animals. It is thus important to determine if the functions of immune and inflammatory cells are altered in models of spaceflight. One such animal model is antiorthostatic suspension (AOS), in which the experimental animal is subjected to a head-down tilt that mimics both the stress and the cephalad fluid shift experienced in spaceflight. A previous study reported that the peritoneal neutrophils from mice experiencing AOS generated less superoxide than unsuspended controls. We expanded on this study using several different stimuli and measuring the oxidative response of murine neutrophils in a variety of ways. These responses included the rate, lag period, and dose/response characteristics for superoxide generation, FACS analysis with dihydrodichlorofluorescein as a substrate, and a chemiluminescence response with luminol as a substrate. We also examined phagocytosis of three different microorganisms. While some effects of orthostatic suspension (attributable to the stress of the apparatus) were observed, no clear effects of AOS on oxidative function of the peritoneal neutrophils were seen.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
NASA NTRS1998

Radiation-induced instability and its relation to radiation carcinogenesis

PURPOSE: A model that identifies radiation-induced genetic instability as the earliest cellular event in the multi-step sequence leading to radiation-induced cancer was previously proposed. In this paper ongoing experiments are discussed which are designed to test this model and its predictions in mouse mammary epithelial cells. RESULTS: Several lines of evidence are presented that appear to support this model: first, the development of delayed mutations in p53 following irradiation in altered growth variants; secondly, the high frequencies for the induction of both instability and transformation following irradiation in mammary epithelial cells; and finally, the demonstration that susceptibility to the induction of cytogenetic instability is a heritable trait that correlates with susceptibility to transformation and radiation-induced mammary cancer. Mice resistant to transformation and mammary cancer development are also resistant to the development of instability after irradiation. In contrast, mice sensitive to transformation and cancer are also sensitive to the development of cytogenetic instability. CONCLUSIONS: Data from this laboratory and from the studies cited above suggest a specific, and perhaps unique, role for radiation-induced instability as a critical early event associated with initiation of the carcinogenic process.

Review↗
NASA NTRS1992

System identification of perilymphatic fistula in an animal model

An acute animal model has been developed in the chinchilla for the study of perilymphatic fistulas. Micropunctures were made in three sites to simulate bony, round window, and oval window fistulas. The eye movements in response to pressure applied to the external auditory canal were recorded after micropuncture induction and in preoperative controls. The main pressure stimulus was a pseudorandom binary sequence (PRBS) that rapidly changed between plus and minus 200 mm of water. The PRBS stimulus, with its wide frequency bandwidth, produced responses clearly above the preoperative baseline in 78 percent of the runs. The response was better between 0.5 and 3.3 Hz than it was below 0.5 Hz. The direction of horizontal eye movement was toward the side of the fistula with positive pressure applied in 92 percent of the runs. Vertical eye movements were also observed. The ratio of vertical eye displacement to horizontal eye displacement depended upon the site of the micropuncture induction. Thus, such a ratio measurement may be clinically useful in the noninvasive localization of perilymphatic fistulas in humans.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1994

Influence of antiorthostatic suspension on resistance to murine Listeria monocytogenes infection

The present study was designed to evaluate the influence of antiorthostatic suspension, a ground-based modeling system employed to simulate certain aspects of weightlessness that occur during space flight, on the capacity of mice to resist infection with the facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Female BDF1 mice were suspended by the tail in the orthostatic or antiorthostatic position and were infected with a sublethal dose of virulent L. monocytogenes at various times during the suspension. It was found that suspension did not influence the kinetics of bacterial growth in vivo if the infection was started concurrently with the suspension. However, mice that were antiorthostatically suspended 2, 4, or 7 days before the onset of infection exhibited an enhanced capacity to eliminate the challenge infection. Suspending mice on day 2 of the infection did not alter the kinetics of bacterial growth. Finally, the enhancement of resistance to the primary Listeria infection was accompanied by failure of the mice to generate long-term protective immunological memory to the challenge organism. Collectively, these results indicate that the stress of antiorthostatic suspension can influence the capacity of mice to resist bacterial infection.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
NASA NTRS2002

Effects of the hindlimb-unloading model of spaceflight conditions on resistance of mice to infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae

BACKGROUND: It has been well documented in several studies that many immunologic parameters are altered in experimental animals and human subjects who have flown in space. However, it is not fully known whether these immunologic changes could result in increased susceptibility to infection. Hindlimb (antiorthostatic) unloading of rodents has been used successfully to simulate some of the effects of spaceflight on physiologic systems. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of hindlimb unloading on the outcome of Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in mice. METHODS: Hindlimb-unloaded, hindlimb-restrained, and control mice were intraperitoneally infected with one 50% lethal dose of K pneumoniae 2 days after suspension. Mortality and bacterial load in several organs were compared among the groups. RESULTS: Unloaded mice showed significantly increased mortality and reduced mean time to death compared with that seen in the control groups. Kinetics of bacterial growth with smaller infective doses revealed that control mice were able to clear bacteria from the organs after 30 hours. In contrast, unloaded mice had continued bacterial growth at the same time point. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that hindlimb unloading might enhance the dissemination of K pneumoniae, leading to increased mortality. The complex physiologic changes observed during hindlimb unloading, including stress, have a key role in the pathophysiology of this infection.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
NASA NTRS2002

Evidence for vestibular regulation of autonomic functions in a mouse genetic model

Physiological responses to changes in the gravitational field and body position, as well as symptoms of patients with anxiety-related disorders, have indicated an interrelationship between vestibular function and stress responses. However, the relative significance of cochlear and vestibular information in autonomic regulation remains unresolved because of the difficulties in distinguishing the relative contributions of other proprioceptive and interoceptive inputs, including vagal and somatic information. To investigate the role of cochlear and vestibular function in central and physiological responses, we have examined the effects of increased gravity in wild-type mice and mice lacking the POU homeodomain transcription factor Brn-3.1 (Brn-3bPou4f3). The only known phenotype of the Brn-3.1(-/-) mouse is related to hearing and balance functions, owing to the failure of cochlear and vestibular hair cells to differentiate properly. Here, we show that normal physiological responses to increased gravity (2G exposure), such as a dramatic drop in body temperature and concomitant circadian adjustment, were completely absent in Brn-3.1(-/-) mice. In line with the lack of autonomic responses, the massive increase in neuronal activity after 2G exposure normally detected in wild-type mice was virtually abolished in Brn-3.1(-/-) mice. Our results suggest that cochlear and vestibular hair cells are the primary regulators of autonomic responses to altered gravity and provide genetic evidence that these cells are sufficient to alter neural activity in regions involved in autonomic and neuroendocrine control.

Non-NASA Center↗