Exposure to the types of radiation encountered outside the magnetic field of the earth can disrupt cognitive performance. Exploratory class missions to other planets will include both male and female astronauts. Because estrogen can function as a neuroprotectant, it is possible that female astronauts may be less affected by exposure to space radiation than male astronauts. To evaluate the effectiveness of estrogen to protect against the disruption of cognitive performance by exposure to space radiation intact and ovariectomized female rats with estradiol or vehicle implants were tested on novel object performance and operant responding on an ascending fixed-ratio reinforcement schedule following exposure to ¹²C (290 MeV/n) or ⁴He (300 MeV/n) particles. The results indicated that exposure to carbon or helium particles did not disrupt cognitive performance in the intact rats. Estradiol implants in the ovariectomized subjects exacerbated the disruptive effects of space radiation on operant performance. Although estrogen does not appear to function as a neuroprotectant following exposure to space radiation, the present data suggest that intact females may be less responsive to the deleterious effects of exposure to space radiation on cognitive performance, possibly due to the effects of estrogen on cognitive performance.

暴露于地球磁场之外遇到的辐射类型会破坏认知能力。对其他行星的探索性飞行任务将包括男性和女性宇航员。因为雌激素可以起到神经保护作用，所以女性宇航员可能比男性宇航员受空间辐射的影响较小。为了评估雌激素通过暴露于完整的空间辐射来保护免受认知能力破坏的有效性，对接受雌二醇或媒介物植入的卵巢切除雌性大鼠进行了新颖的对象测试，并对操作者在暴露于^12后按固定比例的增强时间表做出了反应C（290 MeV / n）或⁴他（300 MeV / n）粒子。结果表明，暴露于碳或氦颗粒不会破坏完整大鼠的认知能力。去卵巢的受试者体内的雌二醇植入物加剧了空间辐射对手术性能的破坏作用。尽管在暴露于空间辐射后雌激素似乎并未起神经保护作用，但本研究数据表明，完整的女性对暴露于空间辐射对认知能力的有害影响反应可能较小，这可能是由于雌激素对认知能力的影响。