Projects

 

Person in the back view on a path in a park

Acute effects of environmental stimuli

 

In several studies, we examine how the presentation of environmental stimuli – such as sounds, images, videos or smells or a combination of all – impact cognition or well-being (look at Methods for further information). We also conduct studies in which we ask our participants to take a longer walk in a certain environment and examine brain activity, as well as how they feel and how well they can concentrate before and after the walk.

 

  • Mostajeran, F., Krzikawski, J., Steinicke, F., & Kühn, S. (2021). Effects of exposure to immersive videos and photo slideshows of forest and urban environments. Scientific Reports, 11, Article 3994. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83277-y 
  • Kühn, S., Garcia Forlim, C., Lender, A., Wirtz, J., & Gallinat, J. (2021). Brain functional connectivity differs when viewing pictures from natural and built environments using fMRI resting state analysis. Scientific Reports, 11, Article 4110. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83246-5 
  • Schiebel, T., Gallinat, J., & Kühn, S. (2022). Testing the Biophilia theory: Automatic approach tendencies towards nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 79, Article 101725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101725

 

Interiors and architecture
In this line of research, we are particularly interested in the effects of different architectural elements on people’s experience and behavior. For example, we examine the influence of angular and curved shapes, ceiling heights, or room sizes on emotions and cognition as well as underlying brain functioning.

  • 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 

 

Long-term effects of outdoor living environments

The goal here is to use large cohort studies to examine the link between habitat – assessed via georeferencing methods – and brain structure and functioning. Cohorts that we are already actively using are the Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II) and IMAGEN. We plan to continue soon with the Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS), the German National Cohort (NAKO) and UKBiobank.

  • Kühn, S., Düzel, S., Eibich, P., Krekel, C., Wüstemann, H., Kolbe, J., Mårtensson, J., Goebel, J., Gallinat, J., Wagner, G. G., & Lindenberger, U. (2017). In search of features that constitute an "enriched environment" in humans: Associations between geographical properties and brain structure. Scientific Reports, 7, Article 11920. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12046-7 
  • Kühn, S., Banaschewski, T., Bokde, A. L. W., Büchel, C., Quinlan, E. B., Desrivières, S., Flor, H., Grigits, A., Garavan, H., Gowland, P., Heinz, A., Ittermann, B., Martinot, J.-L., Paillère Martinot, M. L., Nees, F., Papadopoulos Orfanos, D., Paus, T., Poustka, L., Millenet, S., Fröhner, J. H., Smolka, M. N., Walter, H., Whelan, R., Schumann, G., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., & Gallinat, J. (2020). Brain structure and habitat: Do the brains of our children tell us where they have been brought up? NeuroImage, 222, Article 117225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117225 
  • Kühn, S., Düzel, S., Mascherek, A., Eibich, P., Krekel, C., Kolbe, J., Goebel, J., Gallinat, J., Wagner, G. G., & Lindenberger, U. (2021). Urban green is more than the absence of city: Structural and functional neural basis of urbanicity and green space in the neighbourhood of older adults. Landscape and Urban Planning, 214, Article 104196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104196 

 

Effects of visual and auditory environmental stimuli on the conscious brain and emotions

Our surroundings can have a significant impact on our mental health and wellbeing. As the world becomes more and more urbanized, the impact of this shift towards living in urban environments, which may negatively influence mental health and emotions, rests to be explored. We aim to do just this, by investigating the “active ingredients”, sensory components and brain mechanisms driving our diverse reactions to urban and nature scenes. 

In the “CAVA” study, we recorded videos of Berlin’s urban and nature environments to present to participants within an MRI scanner. By leveraging functional MRI (fMRI) technology, we aim to explore the effects of these environments on the brain both at a sensory level – using videoscapes or soundscapes – and a conscious level, examining their impact on conscious, but also non-conscious processing of emotions. Combined with questionnaire data, we seek to answer the question as to the active ingredients driving the diverse effects of urban and natural environments on the brain and mental health. In bridging the gap between real and virtual exposure, we further hope to determine whether the beneficial effects of nature can be feasibly provided to individuals with mental health disorders or those with limited access to natural environments.

The picture shows two different environments: On the left is an urban environment with buildings and a large square. On the right is a small river in a green environment with trees and bushes.

Are you interested in participating in our experiment? We are currently actively recruiting for CAVA – a 3.5-hour study involving: i) an initial hour of questionnaires and 30-minutes of cognitive tasks, ii) an MRI of around 1 hour, iii) a final 30 minutes to 1 hour of additional tasks and questionnaires. In return, you will get 50 euros, and the opportunity to take a picture of your brain! 
If you would like more information or have questions about the experiment, please feel free to contact us by email at cen_study@mpib-berlin.mpg.de. 

We are always looking for individuals who would like to register in our participant database Castellum and have the opportunity to participate in a range of ongoing studies across the institute.

The Max Planck Society (MPG) takes care of the protection of your personal data. Our Privacy Policy complies with the strict requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). The processing of your Data is lawful, transparent and purpose-bound. In addition, we ensure for their security and confidentiality. Your rights to information, correction, deletion and objection are guaranteed. More Information can be found at https://www.mpg.de/18159523/mpg-datenschutzleitlinie.pdf

  • Emfield, A. G.,; Neider, M. B. (2014). Evaluating visual and auditory contributions to the cognitive restoration effect. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 85709. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYG.2014.00548
  • Jahncke, H., Eriksson, K., & Naula, S. (2015). The effects of auditory and visual settings on perceived restoration likelihood. Noise & Health, 17(74), 1. https://doi.org/10.4103/1463-1741.149559
  • Lederbogen, F., Kirsch, P., Haddad, L., Streit, F., Tost, H., Schuch, P., Wüst, S., Pruessner, J. C. Rietschel, M., Deuschle, M., & Meyer-Lindenberg, A. (2011). City living and urban Upbringing affects neural social stress processing in humans. Nature 2011 474:7352, 474(7352), 498–501. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10190
  • McMahan, E. A., & Estes, D. (2015).The effect of contact with natural environments on positive and negative affect: A meta-analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10(6), 507–519. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.994224
  • Mostajeran, F., Krzikawski, J., Steinicke, F., & Kühn, S. (2021). Effects of exposure to immersive videos and photo slideshows of forest and urban environments. Scientific Reports, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/S41598-021-83277-Y
  • Nutsford, D., Pearson, A. L., & Kingham, S. (2013). An ecological study investigating the association between access to urban green space and mental health. Public Health, 127(11), 1005–1011. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PUHE.2013.08.016
  • 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), 4446–4452. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01720-6
  • Xu, J., Liu, N., Polemiti, E., Garcia-Mondragon, L., Tang, J., Liu, X., Lett, T., Yu, L., Nöthen, M. M., Feng, J., Yu, C., Marquand, A., Schumann, G., Walter, H., Heinz, A., Ralser, M., Twardziok, S., Vaidya, N., Serin, E., … Ogoh, G. (2023). Effects of urban living environments on mental health in adults. Nature Medicine 2023 29:6, 29(6), 1456–1467. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02365-w
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