Abstract
Exposure to low doses of heavy particles and protons, which will be encountered during long-term exploratory class missions to other planets, can cause deficits in cognitive performance. These deficits are similar to those observed in aged animals. The long-term effects of such exposures and their relationship to the short-term effects and to aging remain to be established. Two-month old rats were exposed to a variety of heavy particles and protons. Recognition memory was tested at two time points following irradiation. The results showed that exposure to doses of radiation that did not disrupt cognitive performance in the younger animals, disrupted performance when the subjects were re-tested at an older age. These results indicate that there is an interaction between the age of the organism and the effects of exposure to space radiation on cognitive performance, such that exposure to doses of heavy particles or protons that may not produce an initial effect on cognitive performance may produce an effect as the organism ages. Because of the interaction between exposure to the types of radiation encountered in space and age, it is possible that participating in exploratory class missions may have consequences for the quality of life after the conclusion of the mission.
Highlights
On exploratory class missions to Mars astronauts will be exposed to types of radiation not expe-How to cite this paper: Rabin, B.M., Shukitt-Hale, B. and Carrihill-Knoll, K.L. (2014) Effects of Age on the Disruption of Cognitive Performance by Exposure to Space Radiation
Exposure to HZE particles and protons produced a disruption of recognition memory
Recognition memory performance of the older animals was disrupted by a dose of HZE particles and protons that was 10% - 50% of the dose needed to disrupt performance in the younger animals, regardless of the absolute value of the dose needed to disrupt recognition memory in the younger subjects
Summary
On exploratory class missions to Mars astronauts will be exposed to types of radiation (cosmic rays) not expe-How to cite this paper: Rabin, B.M., Shukitt-Hale, B. and Carrihill-Knoll, K.L. (2014) Effects of Age on the Disruption of Cognitive Performance by Exposure to Space Radiation. Research to-date using operant responding on an ascending fixed-ratio schedule (which measures the responsiveness of the organism to changes in environmental stimuli and their motivation to respond to changes in reinforcement schedules) and a single HZE particle (56Fe) has shown that cognitive performance following exposure to HZE particles is a function of both the time since exposure [11] as well as age of irradiation [12]. These results suggest that exposure to doses of HZE particles that are not high enough to affect cognitive performance at the time of exposure, may affect performance at some later time
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