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NEWS
Observations: Interfering With the Biological Clock
Shrinks the Brain
by P. Moses
Airplane pilots are generally considered highly qualified
and talented professionals, yet recent studies conducted in
London showed their brains might actually be smaller:
according to the results of a study of flight crews from
several airlines, long flights and jet lag can cause the
brain to shrink.
Researchers at the University of Bristol in England say
parts of the temporal lobe, which is crucial for memory,
shrink after regular exposure to jet lag. Symptoms include
memory loss and an increase in cortisone levels. The team of
researchers from the university's school of medicine
discovered that flight crews with the same number of hours
of flying time, but without significant time zone changes,
do not display brain shrinkage.
The same team of researchers demonstrated diminished
cognitive ability among flight crews in a previous study in
which they used magnetic sound simulation to measure brain
mass.
The findings were published in the journal Nature
Neuroscience and have not only flight crews concerned,
but also night shift workers and parents of small children
whose biological clocks are disrupted as a result of
nighttime interruptions by restless children. Thus far it
remains unknown whether these changes in the brain are
reversible or not.
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