Scientists' Brains Reduce In Size After Spending Over A Year In Antarctica

A recent study revealed that after spending some time at the Antarctica research station, surrounded by the seemingly endless white landscape and having minimum contact with the outside world, scientists have their brains shrunken a little.

According to Alexander Stahn, a physiologist, it was exciting to see the vast landscape at first, but it stayed the same all the time.

The said crew consists of eight researchers and scientists, along with a cook, is now stationed at Neumayer III, a research facility of Germany. In the last 14 months, they spend at the station, the team has to put up with the long polar winter when the temperature can reach –50° Celsius. The feeling of being isolated and surrounded by the same landscape is what astronauts may expect during space exploration.

Some studies conducted on animals have pointed out that these conditions can hurt the functions of the hippocampus, an area in the brains responsible for navigation and memory. However, so far, we have had no solid evidence that this occurrence can be expected on humans.

Stahn and some other colleagues took images of their fellow scientists before and after their stay at the Antarctica research facility. What they found out is that the hippocampus areas of the researchers have lost 7% of the size after the endeavor in comparison with others of the same sex and age who did not join the expedition.

This sounds like a piece of devastating news for scientists and researchers working in an isolated environment; however, we have reason to be confident that the shrinking can be reversed. Stahn said that while the hippocampus is sensitive to social isolation, it can react positively when the scientists go back to an environment with plenty of opportunities to interact and explore.