Space travel: Dual origins of light flashes seen in space

Light flashes and other sensory illusions perceived in space travel and on ground, including proton and heavy ion therapies

Most of the astronauts experience visual illusions, apparent flashes of light (LF) in absence of light. The first reported observation of this phenomenon was in July 1969 by Buzz Aldrin, in the debriefing following the Apollo 11 mission. Several ground-based experiments in the 1970s tried to clarify the mechanisms behind these light flashes and to evaluate possible related risks. These works were supported by dedicated experiments in space on the following Apollo flights and in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). It was soon demonstrated that the LF could be caused by charged particles (present in the space radiation) traveling through the eye, and, possibly, some other visual cortical areas. In the 1990s the interest in these phenomena increased again and additional experiments in Low Earth Orbit and others ground-based were started. Recently patients undergoing proton and heavy ion therapy for eye or head and neck tumors have reported the perception of light flashes, opening a new channel to investigate these phenomena. In this paper the many LF studies will be reviewed, presenting an historical and scientific perspective consistent with the combined set of observations, offering a single comprehensive summary aimed to provide further insights on these phenomena. While the light flashes appear not to be a risk by themselves, they might provide information on the amount of radiation induced radicals in the astronauts' eyes. Understanding their generation mechanisms might also support radiation countermeasures development. However, even given the substantial progress outlined in this paper, many questions related to their generation are still under debate, so additional studies are suggested. Finally, it is also conceivable that further LF investigations could provide evidence about the possible interaction of single particles in space with brain function, impacting with the crew ability to optimally perform a mission.

Impact of Microgravity and Other Spaceflight Factors on Retina of Vertebrates and Humans In Vivo and In Vitro

Spaceflight (SF) increases the risk of developmental, regenerative, and physiological disorders in animals and humans. Astronauts, besides bone loss, muscle atrophy, and cardiovascular and immune system alterations, undergo ocular disorders affecting posterior eye tissues, including the retina. Few studies revealed abnormalities in the development and changes in the regeneration of eye tissues in lower vertebrates after SF and simulated microgravity. Under microgravity conditions, mammals show disturbances in the retinal vascular system and increased risk of oxidative stress that can lead to cell death in the retina. Animal studies provided evidence of gene expression changes associated with cellular stress, inflammation, and aberrant signaling pathways. Experiments using retinal cells in microgravity-modeling systems in vitro additionally indicated micro-g-induced changes at the molecular level. Here, we provide an overview of the literature and the authors' own data to assess the predictive value of structural and functional alterations for developing countermeasures and mitigating the SF effects on the human retina. Further emphasis is given to the importance of animal studies on the retina and other eye tissues in vivo and retinal cells in vitro aboard spacecraft for understanding alterations in the vertebrate visual system in response to stress caused by gravity variations.

Polyunsaturated Lipids in the Light-Exposed and Prooxidant Retinal Environment

The retina is an oxidative stress-prone tissue due to high content of polyunsaturated lipids, exposure to visible light stimuli in the 400–480 nm range, and high oxygen availability provided by choroidal capillaries to support oxidative metabolism. Indeed, lipids’ peroxidation and their conversion into reactive species promoting inflammation have been reported and connected to retinal degenerations. Here, we review recent evidence showing how retinal polyunsaturated lipids, in addition to oxidative stress and damage, may counteract the inflammatory response triggered by blue light-activated carotenoid derivatives, enabling long-term retina operation despite its prooxidant environment. These two aspects of retinal polyunsaturated lipids require tight control over their synthesis to avoid overcoming their protective actions by an increase in lipid peroxidation due to oxidative stress. We review emerging evidence on different transcriptional control mechanisms operating in retinal cells to modulate polyunsaturated lipid synthesis over the life span, from the immature to the ageing retina. Finally, we discuss the antioxidant role of food nutrients such as xanthophylls and carotenoids that have been shown to empower retinal cells’ antioxidant responses and counteract the adverse impact of prooxidant stimuli on sight.

X-ray perception: Animal studies of sensory and behavioral responses to X-rays

Since their discovery in 1895, many studies have been conducted to understand the effect of X-rays on neural function and behavior in animals. These studies examined a range of acute and chronic effects, and a subset of studies has attempted to determine if X-rays can produce any sensory responses. Here we review literature on animal behavioral responses to X-rays from 1895 until 2021 to assess the evidence for detection of X-rays by sensory receptors in animals. We focus on the changes in appetitive and consummatory behavior, radiotaxis, behavioral arousal, and olfactory responses to X-rays that have been reported in the literature. Taken together, the reviewed literature provides a large body of evidence that X-rays can induce sensory responses in a wide variety of animals and also suggests that these responses are mediated by known sensory receptors. Furthermore, we postulate the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the most biologically active byproduct of X-rays, as a key mediator of sensory receptor responses to X-rays.

Neuro-consequences of the spaceflight environment

As human space exploration advances to establish a permanent presence beyond the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with NASA's Artemis mission, researchers are striving to understand and address the health challenges of living and working in the spaceflight environment. Exposure to ionizing radiation, microgravity, isolation and other spaceflight hazards pose significant risks to astronauts. Determining neurobiological and neurobehavioral responses, understanding physiological responses under Central Nervous System (CNS) control, and identifying putative mechanisms to inform countermeasure development are critically important to ensuring brain and behavioral health of crew on long duration missions. Here we provide a detailed and comprehensive review of the effects of spaceflight and of ground-based spaceflight analogs, including simulated weightlessness, social isolation, and ionizing radiation on humans and animals. Further, we discuss dietary and non-dietary countermeasures including artificial gravity and antioxidants, among others. Significant future work is needed to ensure that neural, sensorimotor, cognitive and other physiological functions are maintained during extended deep space missions to avoid potentially catastrophic health and safety outcomes.

What can space radiation protection learn from radiation oncology?

Protection from cosmic radiation of crews of long-term space missions is now becoming an urgent requirement to allow a safe colonization of the moon and Mars. Epidemiology provides little help to quantify the risk, because the astronaut group is small and as yet mostly involved in low-Earth orbit mission, whilst the usual cohorts used for radiation protection on Earth (e.g. atomic bomb survivors) were exposed to a radiation quality substantially different from the energetic charged particle field found in space. However, there are over 260,000 patients treated with accelerated protons or heavier ions for different types of cancer, and this cohort may be useful for quantifying the effects of space-like radiation in humans. Space radiation protection and particle therapy research also share the same tools and devices, such as accelerators and detectors, as well as several research topics, from nuclear fragmentation cross sections to the radiobiology of densely ionizing radiation. The transfer of the information from the cancer radiotherapy field to space is manifestly complicated, yet the two field should strengthen their relationship and exchange methods and data.

Failla Memorial Lecture: The Many Facets of Heavy-Ion Science

Heavy ions are riveting in radiation biophysics, particularly in the areas of radiotherapy and space radiation protection. Accelerated charged particles can indeed penetrate deeply in the human body to sterilize tumors, exploiting the favorable depth-dose distribution of ions compared to conventional X rays. Conversely, the high biological effectiveness in inducing late effects presents a hazard for manned space exploration. Even after half a century of accelerator-based experiments, clinical applications and flight research, these two topics remain both fascinating and baffling. Heavy-ion therapy is very expensive, and despite the clinical success it remains controversial. Research on late radiation morbidity in spaceflight led to a reduction in uncertainty, but also pointed to new risks previously underestimated, such as possible damage to the central nervous system. Recently, heavy ions have also been used in other, unanticipated biomedical fields, such as treatment of heart arrhythmia or inactivation of viruses for vaccine development. Heavy-ion science nicely merges physics and biology and remains an extraordinary research field for the 21st century.

From international ophthalmology to space ophthalmology: the threats to vision on the way to Moon and Mars colonization

PURPOSE

To report the ophthalmological risks of space travel.

METHODS

The literature about the effect of microgravity and cosmic radiation on the human eye has been reviewed, focusing on the so-called "spaceflight related neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS)", and possible remedies.

RESULTS

The eye is the major candidate to suffer from the adverse space conditions, so much so that SANS is the main concern of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). SANS, that affects astronauts engaged in long-duration spaceflights, is characterized by optic nerve head swelling, flattening of the posterior region of the scleral shell, choroidal folds, retinal cotton wool spots, and hyperopic shift. Even if it seems related to an increased volume of the cerebrospinal fluid in the brain and the optic nerve sheaths, its pathogenesis is still unclear. In addition, cataract is related to the effect of galactic cosmic rays on the lens. Centrifuges, pressurizing chambers, and mechanical counter-pressure suits have been advanced to counteract the upward fluid shift responsible for the SANS syndrome. Shields with a high content of hydrogen, magnetic shielding systems, and wearable radiation shielding devices are under study to mitigate the exposure to galactic cosmic rays.

CONCLUSIONS

Since 1961, the year of the first manned mission outside the Earth, history has shown that the human being may venture in space. Yet, visual impairment is the top health risk for long-duration spaceflight. Effective remediation is mandatory in anticipation of long space missions and Moon and Mars colonization.

Occurrence and mechanism of visual phosphenes in external photon beam radiation therapy and how to influence them

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Two plausible mechanisms to explain the appearance of visual phosphenes are: direct activation of the photochemicals in the retina and the generation of Cherenkov radiation in the vitreous humour. In this clinical trial we investigated the occurrence of visual phosphenes in external photon beam radiation therapy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Logistic regression analysis is used to examine whether seeing light flashes and seeing steady light depended on the ambient light intensity and the dose.

RESULTS

In total, 465 treatments of 25 patients were analysed. The odds of seeing light flashes multiply by 0,926 as the ambient light intensity increases by 10 lux. Similarly, the odds multiply by 1,604 as the dose to the retina increases by 10 cGy. The odds of seeing steady light multiply by 1,540 as the dose to the vitreous humour increases by 10 cGy.

CONCLUSIONS

We postulate that one should reduce the dose rate, instruct patients to keep the eyes open and increase the illuminance in the treatment room to reduce the probability of experiencing visual phosphenes. We hypothesize that melanopsin is involved in the visual phosphenes and that fatigue of patients might be correlated with the observation of visual phosphenes.

Cardiovascular effects of space radiation: implications for future human deep space exploration

BACKGROUND

A manned mission to Mars has been contemplated by the world's largest space agencies for a number of years. The duration of the trip would necessitate a much longer exposure to deep space radiation than any human has ever been exposed to in the past. Concern regarding cancer risk has thus far stalled the progress of deep space exploration; however, the effect of space radiation on the cardiovascular system is significantly less well understood.

DISCUSSION

Damage by radiation in space is mediated by a number of sources, including X-rays, protons and heavier charged atomic nuclei (HZE ions, the high-energy component of galactic cosmic rays). Previously, only lunar mission astronauts have been exposed to significant deep space radiation, with all other missions being low earth orbits only. The effect of this radiation on the human body has been inconclusively studied, and the long-term damage caused to the vascular endothelium by this radiation due to the effect of high-energy particles is not well known.

CONCLUSION

Current radiation shielding technology, which would be viable for use in spacecraft, would not eliminate radiation risk. Similar to how a variety of shielding techniques are used every day by radiographers, again without full risk elimination, we need to explore and better understand the effect of deep space radiation in order to ensure the safety of those on future space missions.

Human Pathophysiological Adaptations to the Space Environment

Space is an extreme environment for the human body, where during long-term missions microgravity and high radiation levels represent major threats to crew health. Intriguingly, space flight (SF) imposes on the body of highly selected, well-trained, and healthy individuals (astronauts and cosmonauts) pathophysiological adaptive changes akin to an accelerated aging process and to some diseases. Such effects, becoming manifest over a time span of weeks (i.e., cardiovascular deconditioning) to months (i.e., loss of bone density and muscle atrophy) of exposure to weightlessness, can be reduced through proper countermeasures during SF and in due time are mostly reversible after landing. Based on these considerations, it is increasingly accepted that SF might provide a mechanistic insight into certain pathophysiological processes, a concept of interest to pre-nosological medicine. In this article, we will review the main stress factors encountered in space and their impact on the human body and will also discuss the possible lessons learned with space exploration in reference to human health on Earth. In fact, this is a productive, cross-fertilized, endeavor in which studies performed on Earth yield countermeasures for protection of space crew health, and space research is translated into health measures for Earth-bound population.

Mechanisms of phosphenes in irradiated patients

Anomalous visual perceptions have been reported in various diseases of the retina and visual pathways or can be experienced under specific conditions in healthy individuals. Phosphenes are perceptions of light in the absence of ambient light, occurring independently of the physiological and classical photonic stimulation of the retina. They are a frequent symptom in patients irradiated in the region of the central nervous system (CNS), head and neck and the eyes. Phosphenes have historically been attributed to complex physical phenomena such as Cherenkov radiation. While phosphenes are related to Cherenkov radiation under high energy photon/electron irradiation conditions, physical phenomena are unlikely to be responsible for light flashes at energies used for ocular proton therapy. Phosphenes may involve a direct role for ocular photoreceptors and possible interactions between cones and rods. Other mechanisms involving the retinal ganglion cells or ultraweak biophoton emission and rhodopsin bleaching after exposure to free radicals are also likely to be involved. Despite their frequency as shown in our preliminary observations, phosphenes have been underreported probably because their mechanism and impact are poorly understood. Recently, phosphenes have been used to restore the vision and whether they might predict vision loss after therapeutic irradiation is a current field of investigation. We have reviewed and also investigated here the mechanisms related to the occurrence of phosphenes in irradiated patients and especially in patients irradiated by proton therapy for ocular tumors.

Mechanisms of phosphene generation in ocular proton therapy as related to space radiation exposure

Particle therapy provides an opportunity to study the human response to space radiation in ground-based facilities. On this basis, a study of light flashes analogous to astronauts' phosphenes reported by patients undergoing ocular proton therapy has been undertaken. The influence of treatment parameters on phosphene generation was investigated for 430 patients treated for a choroidal melanoma at the proton therapy centre of the Institut Curie (ICPO) in Orsay, France, between 2008 and 2011. 60% of them report light flashes, which are predominantly (74%) blue. An analysis of variables describing the patient's physiology, properties of the tumour and dose distribution shows that two groups of tumour and beam variables are correlated with phosphene occurrence. Physiology is found to have no influence on flash triggering. Detailed correlation study eventually suggests a possible twofold mechanism of phosphene generation based on (i) indirect Cerenkov light in the bulk of the eye due to nuclear interactions and radioactive decay and (ii) direct excitation of the nerve fibres in the back of the eye and/or radical excess near the retina.

Interaction of (12)C ions with the mouse retinal response to light

Astronauts in orbit reported phosphenes varying in shape and orientation across the visual field; incidence was correlated with the radiation flux. Patients with skull tumors treated by (12)C ions and volunteers whose posterior portion of the eye was exposed to highly ionizing particles in early studies reported comparable percepts. An origin in radiation activating the visual system is suggested. Bursts (∼ 4 ms) of (12)C ions evoked electrophysiological mass responses comparable to those to light in the retina of anesthetized wild-type mice at threshold flux intensities consistent with the incidence observed in humans. The retinal response amplitude increased in mice with ion intensity to a maximum at ∼ 2000 ions/burst, to decline at higher intensities; the inverted-U relationship suggests complex effects on retinal structures. Here, we show that bursts of (12)C ions presented simultaneously to white light stimuli reduced the presynaptic mass response to light in the mouse retina, while increasing the postsynaptic retinal and cortical responses amplitude and the phase-locking to stimulus of cortical low frequency and gamma (∼ 25-45 Hz) responses. These findings suggest (12)C ions to interfere with, rather than mimicking the light action on photoreceptors; a parallel action on other retinal structures/mechanisms resulting in cortical activation is conceivable. Electrophysiological visual testing appears applicable to monitor the radiation effects and in designing countermeasures to prevent functional visual impairment during operations in space.

New challenges in high-energy particle radiobiology

Densely ionizing radiation has always been a main topic in radiobiology. In fact, α-particles and neutrons are sources of radiation exposure for the general population and workers in nuclear power plants. More recently, high-energy protons and heavy ions attracted a large interest for two applications: hadrontherapy in oncology and space radiation protection in manned space missions. For many years, studies concentrated on measurements of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of the energetic particles for different end points, especially cell killing (for radiotherapy) and carcinogenesis (for late effects). Although more recently, it has been shown that densely ionizing radiation elicits signalling pathways quite distinct from those involved in the cell and tissue response to photons. The response of the microenvironment to charged particles is therefore under scrutiny, and both the damage in the target and non-target tissues are relevant. The role of individual susceptibility in therapy and risk is obviously a major topic in radiation research in general, and for ion radiobiology as well. Particle radiobiology is therefore now entering into a new phase, where beyond RBE, the tissue response is considered. These results may open new applications for both cancer therapy and protection in deep space.

Preventive or potential therapeutic value of nutraceuticals against ionizing radiation-induced oxidative stress in exposed subjects and frequent fliers

Humans are constantly exposed to ionizing radiation deriving from outer space sources or activities related to medical care. Absorption of ionizing radiation doses over a prolonged period of time can result in oxidative damage and cellular dysfunction inducing several diseases, especially in ageing subjects. In this report, we analyze the effects of ionizing radiation, particularly at low doses, in relation to a variety of human pathologies, including cancer, and cardiovascular and retinal diseases. We discuss scientific data in support of protection strategies by safe antioxidant formulations that can provide preventive or potential therapeutic value in response to long-term diseases that may develop following exposure.

Bovine rod rhodopsin: 2. Bleaching in vitro upon 12C ions irradiation as source of effects as light flash for patients and for humans in space

PURPOSE

In a previous paper, we showed that chemiluminescence from radical recombination (initiated by lipid peroxidation and propagated by polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFA]) has a bleaching effect comparable to that caused by light on the rhodopsin of retinal rod outer segment (RdOS) prepared from bovine eyes. Photons generated by radical recombination were suggested to be the origin of phosphenes perceived as light flashes by the human eye. Irradiation with (12)C carbon ions was used in this study to stimulate radical production, propagation and recombination leading to photoluminescence.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

(12)C radiation bleached RdOS rhodopsin, but structural damage increasing with the radiation dose was also observed. For this reason, only the effects on rhodopsin at doses producing next to negligible biodamage and permitting regeneration have been considered as bleaching effects.

RESULTS

(12)C irradiation bleached RdOS rhodopsin, but increasing structural damage with radiation dose was also observed. For the measure of bleaching and to reveal dose response effects on rhodopsin that were able to be regenerated only results from doses producing nearly negligible biodamage have been considered.

CONCLUSIONS

Recombination of radicals appears responsible for the release of photons with subsequent bleaching of rhodopsin. This effect could have an important role in the generation of the anomalous visual effects (phosphenes) experienced by patients during hadrotherapy or by astronauts in space.

Eighth Warren K. Sinclair keynote address: Heavy ions in therapy and space: benefits and risks

Heavy charged particles produce biological damage that is different from that normally produced by sparsely ionizing radiation, such as x- or gamma-rays, which are a large component of the natural radiation background. In fact, as a result of the different spatial distribution of the energy deposited along the core and penumbra of the track, DNA lesions are exquisitely complex and difficult to repair. Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) factors are normally used to scale from x-rays to heavy ion damage, but it should be kept in mind that RBE depends on several factors (dose, dose rate, endpoint, particle energy, and charge, etc.), and sometimes heavy ions produce special damages that just cannot be scaled by x-ray damage alone. These special characteristics of heavy ions can be used to treat tumors efficiently, as it is currently done in Japan and Germany, but they represent a threat for human space exploration.

Light flashes in cancer patients treated with heavy ions

Light flashes (phosphenes) are reported by most of the astronauts during spaceflight and patients treated with radiotherapy for brain tumors. They are induced by cosmic ray traversals, but the target area is unknown. With a correlation analysis of the visual sensation and the position of the beam in patients treated with energetic carbon ions for skull base tumors, we demonstrate here that light flashes are elicited only when the energetic particles hit the retina.

Biological effects of space radiation on human cells: history, advances and outcomes

Exposure to radiation is one of the main concerns for space exploration by humans. By focusing deliberately on the works performed on human cells, we endeavored to review, decade by decade, the technological developments and conceptual advances of space radiation biology. Despite considerable efforts, the cancer and the toxicity risks remain to be quantified: 1) the nature and the frequency of secondary heavy ions need to be better characterized in order to estimate their contribution to the dose and to the final biological response; 2) the diversity of radiation history of each astronaut and the impact of individual susceptibility make very difficult any epidemiological analysis for estimating hazards specifically due to space radiation exposure. 3) Cytogenetic data undoubtedly revealed that space radiation exposure produce significant damage in cells. However, our knowledge of the basic mechanisms specific to low-dose, to repeated doses and to adaptive response is still poor. The application of new radiobiological techniques, like immunofluorescence, and the use of human tissue models different from blood, like skin fibroblasts, may help in clarifying all the above items.

Space radiation research in Europe: flight experiments and ground-based studies

Exposure to space radiation has long been acknowledged as a potential showstopper for long-duration manned interplanetary missions. In an effort to gain more information on space radiation risk and to develop countermeasures, NASA initiated several years ago a Space Radiation Health Program, which is currently supporting biological experiments performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Accelerator-based radiobiology research in the field of space radiation research is also under way in Russia and Japan. The European Space Agency (ESA) supports research in the field in three main directions: spaceflight experiments on the International Space Station; modeling and simulations of the space radiation environment and transport; and, recently, ground-based radiobiology experiments exploiting the high-energy SIS18 synchrotron at GSI in Germany (IBER program). Several experiments are currently under way within IBER, and so far, beams of C and Fe-ions at energies between 11 and 1,000 MeV/n have been used in cell and tissue targets.

Electrophysiological responses of the mouse retina to 12C ions

Phosphenes ("light flashes") have been reported by most astronauts on space missions and by healthy subjects whose eyes were exposed to ionizing radiation in early experiments in particle accelerators. The conditions of occurrence suggested retinal effects of heavy ions. To develop an in vivo animal model, we irradiated the eyes of anesthetized wild-type mice with repeated bursts of 12C ions delivered under controlled conditions in accelerator. 12C ions evoked electrophysiological retinal mass responses and activated the visual system as indicated by responses recorded from the visual cortex. No retinal immunohistological damage was detected. Mice proved a suitable animal model to study radiation-induced phosphenes in vivo and our findings are consistent with an origin of phosphenes in radiation activating the retina.

Getting ready for the manned mission to Mars: the astronauts' risk from space radiation

Space programmes are shifting towards planetary exploration and, in particular, towards missions by human beings to the Moon and to Mars. Radiation is considered to be one of the major hazards for personnel in space and has emerged as the most critical issue to be resolved for long-term missions both orbital and interplanetary. The two cosmic sources of radiation that could impact a mission outside the Earth's magnetic field are solar particle events (SPE) and galactic cosmic rays (GCR). Exposure to the types of ionizing radiation encountered during space travel may cause a number of health-related problems, but the primary concern is related to the increased risk of cancer induction in astronauts. Predictions of cancer risk and acceptable radiation exposure in space are extrapolated from minimal data and are subject to many uncertainties. The paper describes present-day estimates of equivalent doses from GCR and solar cosmic radiation behind various shields and radiation risks for astronauts on a mission to Mars.

The use of a syncytium model of the crystalline lens of the eye as a new tool to study the light flashes phenomenon seen by astronauts

A syncytium model to study some electrical properties of the eye is proposed to study the phenomenon of anomalous light flashes (LF) perceived by astronauts in orbit. The crystalline lens is modelled as an ellipsoidal syncytium with a variable relative dielectric constant. The corresponding mathematical model is a boundary value problem for a system of two coupled elliptic partial differential equations in the two unknown syncytial electrical potentials. A numerical method to compute an approximate solution of this mathematical model is used, and some numerical results are shown. The model can be regarded as a new tool to study the LF phenomenon. In particular, the energy lost in the syncytium by a transversing cosmic charged particle is calculated and the results obtained with the syncytium model are compared with those obtained using the previously available Geant 3.21 simulation program. In addition, the interaction of antimatter-syncytium is studied, and the Creme96 computer program is used to evaluate the cosmic ray fluxes encountered by the International Space Station in its standard mission.

Nanocomposite polymeric electrolytes to record electrophysiological brain signals in prolonged, unconventional or extreme conditions

Chemically stable nanocomposite iono-conducting polymeric membranes (based on lithium salts and nanocrystalline oxide powders dispersed in a polymethyl methacrylate matrix) performed successfully in the recording of human brain responses to visual stimulation. Impedance was higher than that of conventional electrodes. However, the electrophysiological signals recorded by acid Al(2)O(3) and neutral Al(2)O(3) 5 wt.% and 10 wt.% nanocomposite gel electrolytes were comparable to those obtained with standard electrodes, even without preliminary skin cleaning and in the absence of gel electrolytes allowing better contact with and skin-electrode ionic conductance. The electrochemical and mechanical characteristics of these membranes make them fit for human and animal research, for clinical application (specifically in emergencies, prolonged electrophysiological recordings), or in unconventional or extreme conditions when fluid electrolytes are unsuitable (e.g., biomedical space research).

Positive visual phenomena in space: A scientific case and a safety issue in space travel

Most astronauts on Apollo, Skylab, and MIR reported 'flashes of light' occurring in different shapes and apparently moving across the visual field, in the absence of auditory, somatosensory, or olfactory abnormal percepts. A temporal correlation with heavy nuclei or protons has been documented in space and comparable phosphenes were observed by volunteers whose eyes were exposed to accelerated heavy ions at intensities below the threshold for Cerenkov visible radiation. An interaction between heavy ions and the retina was suggested. However, the biophysics of heavy ions or protons action remains undefined, the effects on photoreceptors and neuroretina have not been differentiated, and some direct action on the visual cortex never ruled out. Phosphenes are common in migraine and are known to occur also in response to the electrical stimulation of ganglion cells (in retinas without photoreceptors), optic pathways or visual cortex, with mechanisms that bypass the chemically gated channels. Intrinsic photosensitive ganglion cells exist in the retina of teleost fish and mammals. In the hypothesis of a peculiar sensitivity to subatomic particles of the visual system, phosphenes due to the activation of processes by-passing the photoreceptors would raise questions about human safety in space. The issue is particularly relevant with experiments of increasing duration being now operative in the International Space Station (ISS) and with plans of space travel outside the geomagnetic shield. Research is in progress both in the ISS and on animal models, in the framework of the NASA/ESA actions to improve the astronauts' health in space.

Effects of heavy ions on visual function and electrophysiology of rodents: the ALTEA-MICE project

ALTEA-MICE will supplement the ALTEA project on astronauts and provide information on the functional visual impairment possibly induced by heavy ions during prolonged operations in microgravity. Goals of ALTEA-MICE are: (1) to investigate the effects of heavy ions on the visual system of normal and mutant mice with retinal defects; (2) to define reliable experimental conditions for space research; and (3) to develop animal models to study the physiological consequences of space travels on humans. Remotely controlled mouse setup, applied electrophysiological recording methods, remote particle monitoring, and experimental procedures were developed and tested. The project has proved feasible under laboratory-controlled conditions comparable in important aspects to those of astronauts' exposure to particle in space. Experiments are performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratories [BNL] (Upton, NY, USA) and the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung mbH [GSI]/Biophysik (Darmstadt, FRG) to identify possible electrophysiological changes and/or activation of protective mechanisms in response to pulsed radiation. Offline data analyses are in progress and observations are still anecdotal. Electrophysiological changes after pulsed radiation are within the limits of spontaneous variability under anesthesia, with only indirect evidence of possible retinal/cortical responses. Immunostaining showed changes (e.g. increased expression of FGF2 protein in the outer nuclear layer) suggesting a retinal stress reaction to high-energy particles of potential relevance in space.

The ALTEA/ALTEINO projects: studying functional effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation

The ALTEA project investigates the risks of functional brain damage induced by particle radiation in space. A modular facility (the ALTEA facility) is being implemented and will be operated in the International Space Station (ISS) to record electrophysiological and behavioral descriptors of brain function and to monitor their time dynamics and correlation with particles and space environment. The focus of the program will be on abnormal visual perceptions (often reported as "light flashes" by astronauts) and the impact on retinal and brain visual structures of particle in microgravity conditions. The facility will be made available to the international scientific community for human neurophysiological, electrophysiological and psychophysics experiments, studies on particle fluxes, and dosimetry. A precursor of ALTEA (the 'Alteino' project) helps set the experimental baseline for the ALTEA experiments, while providing novel information on the radiation environment onboard the ISS and on the brain electrophysiology of the astronauts during orbital flights. Alteino was flown to the ISS on the Soyuz TM34 as part of mission Marco Polo. Controlled ground experiments using mice and accelerator beams complete the experimental strategy of ALTEA. We present here the status of progress of the ALTEA project and preliminary results of the Alteino study on brain dynamics, particle fluxes and abnormal visual perceptions.