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 on the ISS (International Space Station). 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 variations at the cellular level on primary hippocampal neurons. A dedicated setup has been designed and built to perform live calcium imaging during parabolic flights. During a CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) parabolic flight campaign, we were able to observe and monitor the calcium activity of 2D networks of neurons inside microfluidic devices during gravity changes over different parabolas. Our preliminary results clearly indicate a modification of the calcium activity associated to variations of gravity.

重力变化（无论是超重力还是微重力）对宇航员大脑的影响是长途太空旅行、月球或火星旅行，或者只是在国际空间站（ISS）上进行长期任务的主要关注点。在国际空间站任务之前和之后监测大脑活动已经证明对宇航员的大脑有重要和长期的影响。在这项研究中，我们重点研究细胞水平上重力变化对初级海马神经元的影响。已设计并建造了专用装置，用于在抛物线飞行期间进行实时钙成像。在 CNES（国家空间研究中心）抛物线飞行活动中，我们能够观察和监测不同抛物线重力变化期间微流体装置内神经元二维网络的钙活动。我们的初步结果清楚地表明与重力变化相关的钙活性的改变。