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Neuromuscular adaptation to actual and simulated weightlessnessThe chronic "unloading" of the neuromuscular system during spaceflight has detrimental functional and morphological effects. Changes in the metabolic and mechanical properties of the musculature can be attributed largely to the loss of muscle protein and the alteration in the relative proportion of the proteins in skeletal muscle, particularly in the muscles that have an antigravity function under normal loading conditions. These adaptations could result in decrements in the performance of routine or specialized motor tasks, both of which may be critical for survival in an altered gravitational field, i.e., during spaceflight and during return to 1 G. For example, the loss in extensor muscle mass requires a higher percentage of recruitment of the motor pools for any specific motor task. Thus, a faster rate of fatigue will occur in the activated muscles. These consequences emphasize the importance of developing techniques for minimizing muscle loss during spaceflight, at least in preparation for the return to 1 G after spaceflight. New insights into the complexity and the interactive elements that contribute to the neuromuscular adaptations to space have been gained from studies of the role of exercise and/or growth factors as countermeasures of atrophy. The present chapter illustrates the inevitable interactive effects of neural and muscular systems in adapting to space. It also describes the considerable progress that has been made toward the goal of minimizing the functional impact of the stimuli that induce the neuromuscular adaptations to space.
Document ID
20050000407
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Edgerton, V. R.
(University of California Los Angeles, United States)
Roy, R. R.
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Advances in space biology and medicine
Volume: 4
ISSN: 1569-2574
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NS16333
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Non-NASA Center
Review, Academic
Review
NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal

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