Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/200240 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Citation: 
[Journal:] Scientific Reports [ISSN:] 2045-2322 [Volume:] 7 [Article No.:] 11920 [Publisher:] Springer Nature [Place:] Heidelberg [Year:] 2017 [Pages:] 1-8
Publisher: 
Springer Nature, Heidelberg
Abstract: 
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.
Subjects: 
Development of the nervous system
Environmental impact
Learning and memory
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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