In search of features that constitute an "enriched environment" in humans: Associations between geographical properties and brain structure
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In search of features that constitute an "enriched environment" in humans: Associations between geographical properties and brain structure. / Kühn, Simone; Düzel, Sandra; Eibich, Peter; Krekel, Christian; Wüstemann, Henry; Kolbe, Jens; Martensson, Johan; Goebel, Jan; Gallinat, Jürgen; Wagner, Gert G; Lindenberger, Ulman.
In: SCI REP-UK, Vol. 7, No. 1, 20.09.2017, p. 11920.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - In search of features that constitute an "enriched environment" in humans: Associations between geographical properties and brain structure
AU - Kühn, Simone
AU - Düzel, Sandra
AU - Eibich, Peter
AU - Krekel, Christian
AU - Wüstemann, Henry
AU - Kolbe, Jens
AU - Martensson, Johan
AU - Goebel, Jan
AU - Gallinat, Jürgen
AU - Wagner, Gert G
AU - Lindenberger, Ulman
PY - 2017/9/20
Y1 - 2017/9/20
N2 - Enriched environments elicit brain plasticity in animals. In humans it is unclear which environment is enriching. Living in a city has been associated with increased amygdala activity in a stress paradigm, and being brought up in a city with increased pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) activity. We set out to identify geographical characteristics that constitute an enriched environment affecting the human brain. We used structural equation modelling on 341 older adults to establish three latent brain factors (amygdala, pACC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)) to test the effects of forest, urban green, water and wasteland around the home address. Our results reveal a significant positive association between the coverage of forest and amygdala integrity. We conclude that forests may have salutogenic effects on the integrity of the amygdala. Since cross-sectional data does not allow causal inference it could also be that individuals with high structural integrity choose to live closer to forest.
AB - Enriched environments elicit brain plasticity in animals. In humans it is unclear which environment is enriching. Living in a city has been associated with increased amygdala activity in a stress paradigm, and being brought up in a city with increased pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) activity. We set out to identify geographical characteristics that constitute an enriched environment affecting the human brain. We used structural equation modelling on 341 older adults to establish three latent brain factors (amygdala, pACC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)) to test the effects of forest, urban green, water and wasteland around the home address. Our results reveal a significant positive association between the coverage of forest and amygdala integrity. We conclude that forests may have salutogenic effects on the integrity of the amygdala. Since cross-sectional data does not allow causal inference it could also be that individuals with high structural integrity choose to live closer to forest.
KW - Journal Article
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-12046-7
DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-12046-7
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 28931835
VL - 7
SP - 11920
JO - SCI REP-UK
JF - SCI REP-UK
SN - 2045-2322
IS - 1
ER -