Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation

Gregory N. Bratman; J. Paul Hamilton; Kevin S. Hahn; Gretchen C. Daily; James J. Gross

doi:10.1073/pnas.1510459112

journal article Jun 29, 2015

Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation

Gregory N. Bratman

J. Paul Hamilton

Kevin S. Hahn Gretchen C. Daily

James J. Gross

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 112 No. 28 pp. 8567-8572 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

View at Publisher Save 10.1073/pnas.1510459112

Abstract

SignificanceMore than 50% of people now live in urban areas. By 2050 this proportion will be 70%. Urbanization is associated with increased levels of mental illness, but it’s not yet clear why. Through a controlled experiment, we investigated whether nature experience would influence rumination (repetitive thought focused on negative aspects of the self), a known risk factor for mental illness. Participants who went on a 90-min walk through a natural environment reported lower levels of rumination and showed reduced neural activity in an area of the brain linked to risk for mental illness compared with those who walked through an urban environment. These results suggest that accessible natural areas may be vital for mental health in our rapidly urbanizing world.

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References

Details

Published: Jun 29, 2015
Vol/Issue: 112(28)
Pages: 8567-8572

Authors

G

Gregory N. Bratman

Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;

J

J. Paul Hamilton

Laureate Institute for Brain Research, School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK 74136;

K

Kevin S. Hahn

Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;

G

Gretchen C. Daily

Center for Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, and Woods Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;; Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm 114 18, Sweden

J

James J. Gross

Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;

Cite This Article

Gregory N. Bratman, J. Paul Hamilton, Kevin S. Hahn, et al. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(28), 8567-8572. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510459112

Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation

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