Orbital spaceflight during pregnancy shapes function of mammalian vestibular system

April E Ronca; Bernd Fritzsch; Laura L Bruce; Jeffrey R Alberts

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.122.1.224

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Orbital spaceflight during pregnancy shapes function of mammalian vestibular system

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Orbital spaceflight during pregnancy shapes function of mammalian vestibular system

April E Ronca, Bernd Fritzsch, Laura L Bruce and Jeffrey R Alberts

Behavioral neuroscience, Vol.122(1), pp.224-232

02/2008

DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.122.1.224

PMCID: PMC2610337

PMID: 18298265

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http://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.122.1.224View

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Abstract

Pregnant rats were flown on the NASA Space Shuttle during the early developmental period of their fetuses' vestibular apparatus and onset of vestibular function. The authors report that prenatal spaceflight exposure shapes vestibular-mediated behavior and central morphology. Postflight testing revealed (a) delayed onset of body righting responses, (b) cardiac deceleration (bradycardia) to 70 degrees head-up roll, (c) decreased branching of gravistatic afferent axons, but (d) no change in branching of angular acceleration receptor projections with comparable synaptogenesis of the medial vestibular nucleus in flight relative to control fetuses. Kinematic analyses of the dams' on-orbit behavior suggest that, although the fetal otolith organs are unloaded in microgravity, the fetus' semicircular canals receive high levels of stimulation during longitudinal rotations of the mother's weightless body. Behaviorally derived stimulation from maternal movements may be a significant factor in studies of vestibular sensory development. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that gravity and angular acceleration shape prenatal organization and function within the mammalian vestibular system.

Pregnancy

Animals, Newborn

Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects

Age Factors

Embryo, Mammalian

Heart Rate, Fetal - physiology

Rats

Synapses - ultrastructure

Space Flight

Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Vestibule, Labyrinth - ultrastructure

Biomechanical Phenomena

Animals

Vestibule, Labyrinth - physiology

Female

Gravity Sensing - physiology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Orbital spaceflight during pregnancy shapes function of mammalian vestibular system
Creators: April E Ronca - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. aronca@wfubmc.edu
Bernd Fritzsch
Laura L Bruce
Jeffrey R Alberts
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Behavioral neuroscience, Vol.122(1), pp.224-232
DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.122.1.224
PMID: 18298265
PMCID: PMC2610337
NLM abbreviation: Behav Neurosci
ISSN: 0735-7044
eISSN: 1939-0084
Publisher: United States
Grant note: R01 DC005590-06 / NIDCD NIH HHS R01 HD050201 / NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD050201-11A1 / NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD050201-12 / NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD050201-13 / NICHD NIH HHS R01 DC005590 / NIDCD NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 02/2008
Academic Unit: Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Biology; Craniofacial Anomalies Research Center
Record Identifier: 9984070889102771

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