Hello
Serafino Mansueto
Ph.D. Student in BRAIN, MIND & COMPUTER SCIENCE, University of Padua
About Me
My research is aimed at investigating the effects of simulated microgravity on brain activity and cognitive performance.
Although real spaceflight is known to induce physiological changes resembling accelerated aging, its specific effects on the human brain remain only partially understood. During spaceflight, microgravity interacts with psychological stress, cognitive workload, and radiation exposure, making it difficult to isolate its direct contribution to neural alterations.
To address this challenge, I use Head-Down Bed Rest (HDBR), a well-established Earth-based analogue of microgravity. In this model, participants lie at a −6° head-down tilt, reproducing key physiological effects of weightlessness, including headward fluid shift, cardiovascular adaptations, and lower-limb unloading, while minimizing many confounding factors present in space missions.
Using HDBR, I examine how simulated microgravity influences brain activity and functional connectivity both at rest and during cognitive tasks. Neural dynamics are measured through electroencephalography (EEG), a non-invasive technique that records electrical brain activity with high temporal resolution.
Most previous research has focused predominantly on young male participants, leaving important gaps regarding sex- and age-related differences. My project addresses this limitation by including exclusively female participants across two age groups (18–30 and 65–76 years). Within each group, participants are randomly assigned to either the HDBR condition or a seated control condition.
This is the first study to investigate the cognitive and neurophysiological effects of simulated microgravity in an exclusively female sample while considering age differences. The findings may contribute to improving astronaut safety and developing targeted countermeasures for long-duration space missions, while also providing insights into the neural consequences of prolonged bed rest and immobilization in older and hospitalized individuals.
Click here for more information and here to view my poster.
Although real spaceflight is known to induce physiological changes resembling accelerated aging, its specific effects on the human brain remain only partially understood. During spaceflight, microgravity interacts with psychological stress, cognitive workload, and radiation exposure, making it difficult to isolate its direct contribution to neural alterations.
To address this challenge, I use Head-Down Bed Rest (HDBR), a well-established Earth-based analogue of microgravity. In this model, participants lie at a −6° head-down tilt, reproducing key physiological effects of weightlessness, including headward fluid shift, cardiovascular adaptations, and lower-limb unloading, while minimizing many confounding factors present in space missions.
Using HDBR, I examine how simulated microgravity influences brain activity and functional connectivity both at rest and during cognitive tasks. Neural dynamics are measured through electroencephalography (EEG), a non-invasive technique that records electrical brain activity with high temporal resolution.
Most previous research has focused predominantly on young male participants, leaving important gaps regarding sex- and age-related differences. My project addresses this limitation by including exclusively female participants across two age groups (18–30 and 65–76 years). Within each group, participants are randomly assigned to either the HDBR condition or a seated control condition.
This is the first study to investigate the cognitive and neurophysiological effects of simulated microgravity in an exclusively female sample while considering age differences. The findings may contribute to improving astronaut safety and developing targeted countermeasures for long-duration space missions, while also providing insights into the neural consequences of prolonged bed rest and immobilization in older and hospitalized individuals.
Click here for more information and here to view my poster.