Special Issue "Current Challenges in Space Neuroscience"
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Astrobiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 September 2023 | Viewed by 4315
Special Issue Editors
Interests: learning and memory; neurocircuits; neuroimmunology; sleep; spaceflight stress
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: space radiation; radiobiology; cognitive testing; executive functions; neurocircuit
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Humankind’s foray into space and eventual interplanetary expeditions present significant challenges that will require an understanding of the effects of living off planet and our ability to adapt to, or develop countermeasures for, the unique conditions in outer space. Astronauts on space missions experience microgravity, psychological stress, sleep loss and disturbances, and exposure to potentially harmful environmental conditions (space radiation, lunar and Martian dust, and prolonged hypercapnia). Exposure to these factors may be repeated or prolonged, and they may interact in their effects across multiple physiological and functional systems, which likely will vary in men and women and with individual differences in resilience and vulnerability. Their impact on the central nervous system and its ability to respond/adapt to their deleterious effects will be a critical determinant of the long-term health of space travelers. Meaningful research on these issues will require collaborations across research fields that have not typically interacted, as well as approaches that consider the demands imposed on terrestrial organisms by the spaceflight environment.
The goal of this Special Issue is to provide a forum for space neuroscience research. We welcome research contributions that address the effects of spaceflight stressors on the brain at the neurocircuit, mechanism and functional level, reviews that address current knowledge in the field and papers on theoretical and modeling approaches needed to advance the field. Topics covered may include cognition, neural structure and function, sleep, spaceflight stress, neural and sensory systems, neuro-adaptive responses as well as other areas relevant to neural function. Papers on technical and engineering approaches needed to understand and/or facilitate neural function during space travel are also welcome.
Dr. Larry D. Sanford
Dr. Richard A. Britten
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- cognition
- microgravity
- sleep
- stress
- Martian and lunar dust
- neural stem cells and progenitors