During spaceflight and lunar missions, reduced gravitational loading causes the muscles and nervous system to decondition rapidly. While muscle wasting is well documented, much less is known about how the brain and spinal cord adapt to the absence of normal mechanical loading - and how these central changes interact with muscle deterioration to impair movement control.
This study investigates how two weeks of simulated lower limb unloading affects the brain's movement programs (motor engrams), the functional connection between nerves and muscles, and overall movement quality. Healthy participants undergo 14 days of Unilateral Lower Limb Suspension (ULLS), a model in which one leg is kept unloaded using a raised shoe and crutches while the other leg functions normally. After the unloading period, participants travel to Bordeaux, France, where they walk on a treadmill for the first time - in lunar gravity - during a parabolic flight.
Before and after the unloading period, participants are assessed with MRI (muscle size), force plate tests (jump performance and balance), nerve stimulation (number of functional motor units), and treadmill gait analysis combining brain activity (EEG), muscle activity (EMG), joint movement, and plantar pressure measurements. The same gait analysis is repeated during the parabolic flight under lunar gravity (0.16G).
The results will shed light on how the brain and muscles adapt to disuse and reactivate under partial gravity - with direct relevance to astronaut safety and rehabilitation, as well as clinical conditions involving prolonged limb immobilization.