The study specializing in physiology, published in the famous scientific journal Frontiers, focused on trying to explore the deep mysteries of space, by examining the brains of pilots on F16 fighters, and concluded that it has a lot in common with astronauts in terms of adapting to gravity levels. Rapidly changing and processing conflicting sensory information.
During the study involving 7 researchers specializing in physiology at several Belgian universities and institutes, MRI scans revealed that pilots with more flying experience showed specific brain connectivity patterns in areas related to sensory information processing, and showed differences in brain connectivity compared to without pilots.
The study confirmed that this will help to understand the effects of spaceflight on the brain and may help provide better training programs for pilots or astronauts.
The first researcher in the study, Floris Wiates, from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, explained to “Sky News Arabia” that the reason for doing this study on F16 fighters is that the presence of astronauts is rare, and then we assumed that studying the brain of members of a somewhat similar profession might provide The answers we need about changes in the brain in space.
He pointed out that there is some similarity between the pressures and variables that the brain is exposed to due to space conditions, and those that the brains of fighters who perform many tasks and fly for longer hours are exposed to.
He emphasized that among the interesting similarities between fighter pilots and astronauts is the same exposure to changing pressure levels, and the need to interpret visual information coming from head movements and accelerations known as information about the vestibular system that controls the movement of the balance of the body.
Accordingly, he continued, by identifying the characteristics of communication in the brains of fighter pilots, it is possible to learn more about the changes that occur in the brains of astronauts during the flight even before they undertake it, which saves effort and money during planning space flights in a manner based on a clear vision.
According to Floris Wiates, in order to prove these facts, he and his fellow researchers conducted the study on 10 combat pilots from the Belgian Air Force, along with another group of 10 non-pilots, and they conducted MRI scans of their brains, explaining that this is the first study ever of communication. Function of the brain in fighter pilots.
One of the findings of the study, according to Floris Yates, was that differences were observed in brain connectivity between experienced and less experienced pilots, indicating that brain changes occur with an increase in the number of flying hours, and these differences included less connectivity in certain areas of the brain that handle sensory information. This means that the brain has adapted to deal with the extreme conditions that occurred during the flight.
Also during the study, experienced pilots showed increased connectivity to frontal regions of the brain that are likely responsible for the cognitive demands of flying a complex jet aircraft.
Flores and Yeats concluded that when comparing pilots and non-pilots, we found “that the brain regions that process vestibular and visual information were more connected in the pilots, and this illustrates the need for pilots to have certain characteristics to deal with the processing of multiple and sometimes conflicting visual and vestibular stimuli simultaneously, and to prioritize the stimuli that are most important.” As important as reading cockpit instruments.”
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