Effects of head-only or whole-body exposure to very low doses of ⁴ He (1000 MeV/n) particles on neuronal function and cognitive performance
Loading...
Author/Creator
Author/Creator ORCID
Date
2019-02
Type of Work
Department
Program
Citation of Original Publication
Bernard M. Rabin , Shibu M. Poulose, Donna F. Bielinski , Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Effects of head-only or whole-body exposure to very low doses of ⁴ He (1000 MeV/n) particles on neuronal function and cognitive performance, Life Sciences in Space Research , Volume 20, February 2019, Pages 85-92, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lssr.2019.02.001
Rights
This item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Subjects
Abstract
On exploratory class missions, astronauts will be exposed to a range of heavy particles which vary in linear energy transfer (LET). Previous research has shown a direct relationship between particle LET and cognitive performance such that, as particle LET decreases the dose needed to affect cognitive performance also decreases. Because a significant portion of the total dose experienced by astronauts may be expected to come from exposure to low LET ⁴ He particles, it would be important to establish the threshold dose of ⁴ He particles that can produce changes in cognitive performance. The results indicated that changes in neuronal function and cognitive performance could be observed following both head-only and whole-body exposures to ⁴ He particles at doses as low as 0.01–0.025 cGy. These results, therefore, suggest the possibility that astronauts on exploratory class missions may be at a greater risk for HZE-induced deficits than previously anticipated.