In a new study by scientists from Germany, urban dwellers living near forests were more likely to have healthier amygdala and were believed to be better able to cope with stressful situations.
Noise, poor ecology, large crowds … Urban life can cause chronic stress. Compared to rural dwellers, urban dwellers have a higher risk of developing mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia. Research shows that urban dwellers have increased activity in the amygdala, an area of the brain that plays an important role in handling stress and responding to danger. A group of scientists led by psychologist Simone Kühn looked at how life in a city, but close to nature (forest, green parkland, etc.), affects the parts of the brain involved in stress processing (in particular, on amygdala).
Kyung notes that previous studies of villagers have shown that living close to nature has a positive effect on mental health and well-being. Now, in a new job, the specialists decided to study the city dwellers. The results of the study are summarized in a press release on the website of the Max Planck Society for Scientific Research.
Indeed, scientists have found a correlation between where a person lives in a city and their brain health. For example, people living in a city near a forest were more likely to have a healthier amygdala, and such city dwellers were believed to cope better with stress. At the same time, it is noted that this effect was observed stably - regardless of differences in education and income level. However, researchers have not been able to find a connection between this area of the brain and life near a green area, body of water or wasteland. It is also emphasized that the current data do not allow to accurately establish a causal relationship: so, perhaps people with a healthier amygdala simply choose a place to live near the forest. But the authors of the work still believe the opposite explanation is more likely. However,specialists are required to conduct further longitudinal research.
Amygdala
The present study involved 341 people aged 61 to 82 years. In addition to tests for memory and intelligence, the subjects were evaluated for the structure of the brain regions involved in stress processing - primarily the amygdala - using MRI. The specialists combined the results of tomography and information about the place of residence of the study participants.
As noted by Ulman Lindenberger, co-author of the work, in the near future these results should be verified in further studies (in particular, in other cities).
The scientific work was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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