Behavior of mice aboard the International Space Station
Behavior of mice aboard the International Space Station
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DOI：
10.1038/s41598-019-40789-y
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发表时间：
2019-04-11
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Globus, Ruth K.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ronca, April E.;Moyer, Eric L.;Globus, Ruth K.
随着人类首次飞往火星的计划正在进行，人们对太空居住的兴趣急剧增长。尽管国内外航天研究有着悠久的历史，但对长时间适应空间环境的行为的理解却很少。在这里，我们报告了在国际空间站（ISS）的美国宇航局啮齿动物栖息地飞行的小鼠的首次详细行为分析。在从地球到国际空间站的4天中转中，从16周和32周大的雌性老鼠身上获得了轨道上的视频图像。在太空中飞行的老鼠表现出了一系列典型的物种行为。年轻的飞行小鼠的身体活动要比相同环境下的地面对照组大，并且遵循昼夜节律周期。在发射后的7-10天内，年轻（但不是年老）的老鼠开始表现出独特的绕圈或“赛跑追踪”行为，并演变成协调的群体活动。航天飞行特有的有组织的群体盘旋行为可能代表了刻板的运动行为，体育锻炼的奖励效果，或通过自我运动产生的前庭感觉。给老鼠提供在RH中抓东西和跑的机会，类似于机组人员经常参加的体育活动。我们的方法为更好地理解人类对太空飞行的反应提供了一个有用的模拟，为评估身体运动如何影响对微重力的反应提供了机会。
Interest in space habitation has grown dramatically with planning underway for the first human transit to Mars. Despite a robust history of domestic and international spaceflight research, understanding behavioral adaptation to the space environment for extended durations is scant. Here we report the first detailed behavioral analysis of mice flown in the NASA Rodent Habitat on the International Space Station (ISS). Following 4-day transit from Earth to ISS, video images were acquired on orbit from 16- and 32-week-old female mice. Spaceflown mice engaged in a full range of species-typical behaviors. Physical activity was greater in younger flight mice as compared to identically-housed ground controls, and followed the circadian cycle. Within 7-10 days after launch, younger (but not older), mice began to exhibit distinctive circling or 'race-tracking' behavior that evolved into coordinated group activity. Organized group circling behavior unique to spaceflight may represent stereotyped motor behavior, rewarding effects of physical exercise, or vestibular sensation produced via self-motion. Affording mice the opportunity to grab and run in the RH resembles physical activities that the crew participate in routinely. Our approach yields a useful analog for better understanding human responses to spaceflight, providing the opportunity to assess how physical movement influences responses to microgravity.