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Gravity Sensor Plasticity in the Space EnvironmentThe ability of the brain to learn from experience and to adapt to new environments is recognized to be profound. This ability, called 'neural plasticity,' depends directly on properties of neurons (nerve cells) that permit them to change in dimension, sprout new parts called spines, change the shape and/or size of existing parts, and to generate, alter, or delete synapses. (Synapses are communication sites between neurons.) These neuronal properties are most evident during development, when evolution guides the laying down of a general plan of the nervous system. However, once a nervous system is established, experience interacts with cellular and genetic mechanisms and the internal milieu to produce unique neuronal substrates that define each individual. The capacity for experience-related neuronal growth in the brain, as measured by the potential for synaptogenesis, is speculated to be in the trillions of synapses, but the range of increment possible for any one part of the nervous system is unknown. The question has been whether more primitive endorgans such as gravity sensors of the inner ear have a capacity for adaptive change, since this is a form of learning from experience.
Document ID
19970025389
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Ross, Muriel D.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Date Acquired
August 17, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 1996
Publication Information
Publication: Astrobiology Workshop: Leadership in Astrobiology
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Accession Number
97N24943
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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