UA-designed brain experiment puts rats aboard NASA mission

"It (Neurolab) is basically dedicated to studying the brain in space and how the nervous system is affected by zero gravity in spaceflight," said UA psychology Professor Bruce McNaughton, who developed the experiment.

The scheduled 16-day Neurolab mission will carry seven crew members and 30 scientific experiments when it lifts off at 2:19 p.m. EDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The nervous system controls blood pressure, maintains balance, coordinates movement and regulates sleep. The Neurolab experiments will study how these functions are affected by the rigors of spaceflight.

"My particular experiment is about how the brain makes mental maps," McNaughton said Tuesday in a phone interview from the launch site.

McNaughton's experiment will monitor the brain activity of trained rats inside a large maze-like box built in a way that prevents them from knowing which direction is up or down. A total of four rats will be on the Neurolab mission as part of the experiment.

McNaughton's studies will focus on the hippocampus, the region of the brain known to play a major role in the formation of longterm memory.

"This region of the brain is part of the system that forms memories of where things are in space," he said.

McNaughton said the brain orients itself in space in response to electrical impulses transmitted by a gravity sensor in the inner ear.

Highly sensitive recording equipment originally developed by McNaughton will be used to record the rats' brain activity.

Microscopic wire implants in the rats' brains will monitor and record their responses to the zero-gravity environment.

"We'll be able to record the electrical activity of nerve cells," McNaughton said.

He said the instruments are designed to simultaneously track and record signals coming from many different parts of the brain.

"We've developed some special hardware with some special features that are pretty advanced in the field," McNaughton said.

The rats are not the only animals bound for Earth's orbit. Other experiments on the Neurolab mission involve snails, crickets, mice and two kinds of fish.

Measurements taken on the crew members and test animals before, during and after the mission will help answer questions such as why sleep patterns change in space, and whether gravity is a necessity in learning to walk.

"It looks like everything is looking good for launch," McNaughton said. "We hope to gain a better understanding of how the brain maintains its spatial orientation."

In anticipation of the completion of the International Space Station early next century, scientists believe the Neurolab experiments will shed valuable light on longterm human adaptability in space. They also hope to gain a better understanding of how the nervous system develops and functions on Earth.

More information about the Neurolab mission is available at its official Web site, http://neurolab.jsc.nasa.gov/