Roberts suspected subtle anatomical changes in the brains of astronauts during spaceflight might be contributing to the development of VIIP syndrome, based on her earlier work. From 2001 to 2004, Roberts led a three-year NASA-funded bed rest study, collaborating with other life sciences researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. A South Carolina native, Roberts had just completed a two-year neuroradiology fellowship at the University of California at San Francisco.
For this study, she examined the brains and muscular responses of participants who stayed in bed for 90 days, during which time, they were required to keep their heads continuously tilted in a downward position to simulate the effects of microgravity.
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Using functional MRI, Roberts evaluated brain neuroplasticity, studying the brain's motor cortex before, during and after long-term bed rest. Results confirmed neuroplasticity in the brain occurred during bed rest, which correlated with functional outcomes of the subjects.
As Roberts evaluated the brain scans, she saw something unusual. She noted a "crowding" occurrence at the vertex, or top of the brain, with narrowing of the gyri and sulci, the bumps and depressions in the brain that give it its folded appearance. This crowding was worse for participants who were on longer bed rest in the study.
Roberts also saw evidence of brain shifting and a narrowing of the space between the top of the brain and the inner table of the skull. She questioned if the same thing might be happening to the astronauts during spaceflight.
In further studies, Roberts acquired brain MRI scans and related data from NASA's Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health program for two groups of astronauts: 18 astronauts who had been in space for short periods of time aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle and 16 astronauts who had been in space for longer periods of time, typically three months, aboard the International Space Station. Roberts and her team then compared the brain images of the two groups of astronauts.
Roberts and study investigators evaluated the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces at the top of the brain and CSF-filled structures, called ventricles, located at the center of the brain. In addition, the team paired the preflight and postflight MRI cine clips from high-resolution 3-D imaging of 12 astronauts from long-duration flights and six astronauts from short-duration flights and looked for any displacement in brain structure.
