Forschungsinteressen

My main research interests focus on how the environment shapes our brain, more specifically, how being exposed to nature and urban environment influences stress, emotions, and cognitive processes. I am especially interested in neural mechanisms underlying these effects, as well as in physiological processes during exposure to different environments. Using fMRI and physiological measures I seek to understand neural and physiological correlates of affective and cognitive effects of one-hour walk in nature versus urban environment, with an aim to influence on the creation of environments optimal for our physical and mental health.

Vita

  • 2024 Dr. rer. nat. (Freie Universität Berlin)
  • 2020 – 2023 Fellow of the International Max Planck Research School on the Life Course (LIFE)
  • 2019 MSc Cognitive Science (Technische Universität Kaiserslautern)
  • 2016 MSc Educational Psychology (University of Belgrade)
  • 2015 BSc Psychology (University of Belgrade)

Articles

  • Sudimac, S. & Kühn, S. (2024). Can a nature walk change your brain? Investigating hippocampal brain plasticity after one hour in a forest. Environmental Research, 119813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.119813
  • Sudimac, S., Sale, V. & Kühn, S. (2022). How nature nurtures: Amygdala activity decreases as the result of a one-hour walk in nature. Molecular Psychiatry, 27(11), 44464452. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01720-6
  • Tawil, N., Sztuka, I. M., Pohlmann, K., Sudimac, S., & Kühn, S. (2021). The living space: Psychological well-being and mental health in response to interiors presented in virtual reality. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(23), Article 12510. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312510        

  • Book chapters

  • Beyer, M., Sudimac, S., Steininger, M. O., Kühn, S. (2024). Interplay Between Physical Environment and the Human Brain: A Review of MRI Research. Environmental Neuroscience, 31-70. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-64699-7_3
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