Brain and Behavioral Changes with Human Spaceflight: Dysfunction and Adaptive Plasticity
Do you want to travel to Mars? Opportunities for human space travel are rapidly expanding, with both commercial space travel and federal agencies making more trips to microgravity than ever before. Professor Rachael Seidler of the University of Florida will present her research on the effects of space travel on the human brain and behavior. She has found evidence for both adaptive, neuroplastic changes as well as dysfunctional effects. There are large individual differences in the changes that occur, related to the space travelers’ age, sex and prior spaceflight experiences.
About Rachael D. Seidler, PhD
Rachael Seidler is a professor in the Departments of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology and Neurology at the University of Florida. She uses a range of neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques coupled with precise measures of movement and cognitive function to determine the neurocognitive underpinnings of behavior. Seidler has expertise working with a variety of populations including healthy young and older adults, patients with Parkinson’s disease, and NASA astronauts in both basic science and intervention experiments. Her work has been supported by the NIH, the NSF, NASA, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and the Translational Research Institute for Space Health. Active work in her lab includes investigation of human brain plasticity with spaceflight and experiments investigating how age differences in brain structure and function affect mobility.
About the Rose M. Litman Memorial Lecture in Science
The Litman Lecture celebrates the legacy of an exceptional scientist and educator with a lifelong passion for research, and a firm commitment to keeping rigorous inquiry at the heart of university life.