Influence of Microgravity on Spontaneous Calcium Activity of Primary Hippocampal Neurons

The influence of variations of gravity, either hypergravity or microgravity, on the brain of astronauts is a major concern for long journeys in space, to the Moon or to Mars, or simply long-duration missions in the ISS. Monitoring brain activity, before and after ISS missions already demonstrated important and long term effects on the brains of astronauts. In this study, we focus on the influence of gravity at the cell level on primary hippocampal neurons. A dedicated setup has been designed and built to perform live calcium imaging during parabolic flights. Using this technology, throughout the CNES parabolic flights campaign, organized by Novespace in spring 2022, we were able to observe neurons inside microfluidic devices and monitor their calcium activity during gravity changes over different parabolas. Our preliminary results clearly indicate a modification of the calcium activity associated to variations of gravity.