Immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attention
Abstract There is conjecture that our modern urban environments place high demand on our attentional resources, which can become depleted over time and cause mental fatigue. Natural environments, on the other hand, are thought to provide relief from this demand and allow our resources to be replenis...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52205-1 |
| _version_ | 1797276569177161728 |
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| author | Amy S. McDonnell David L. Strayer |
| author_facet | Amy S. McDonnell David L. Strayer |
| author_sort | Amy S. McDonnell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract There is conjecture that our modern urban environments place high demand on our attentional resources, which can become depleted over time and cause mental fatigue. Natural environments, on the other hand, are thought to provide relief from this demand and allow our resources to be replenished. While these claims have been assessed with self-report and behavioral measures, there is limited understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying these attentional benefits. The present randomized controlled trial fills this gap in the literature by using electroencephalography to explore three aspects of attention—alerting, orienting, and executive control—from a behavioral and neural perspective. Participants (N = 92) completed the Attention Network Task before and after either a 40-min walk in nature or a 40-min walk in a control, urban environment. Participants that walked in nature reported their walk to be more restorative than those that walked in the urban environment. Furthermore, the nature group showed an enhanced error-related negativity after their walk, an event-related brain component that indexes executive control capacity, whereas the urban group did not. These findings demonstrate that a 40-min nature walk enhances executive control at a neural level, providing a potential neural mechanism for attention restoration in nature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:30:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c035273a2edc482aa8aa2d7a4800a4bf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:30:03Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-c035273a2edc482aa8aa2d7a4800a4bf2024-03-05T16:28:30ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-01-0114111510.1038/s41598-024-52205-1Immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attentionAmy S. McDonnell0David L. Strayer1Department of Psychology, University of UtahDepartment of Psychology, University of UtahAbstract There is conjecture that our modern urban environments place high demand on our attentional resources, which can become depleted over time and cause mental fatigue. Natural environments, on the other hand, are thought to provide relief from this demand and allow our resources to be replenished. While these claims have been assessed with self-report and behavioral measures, there is limited understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying these attentional benefits. The present randomized controlled trial fills this gap in the literature by using electroencephalography to explore three aspects of attention—alerting, orienting, and executive control—from a behavioral and neural perspective. Participants (N = 92) completed the Attention Network Task before and after either a 40-min walk in nature or a 40-min walk in a control, urban environment. Participants that walked in nature reported their walk to be more restorative than those that walked in the urban environment. Furthermore, the nature group showed an enhanced error-related negativity after their walk, an event-related brain component that indexes executive control capacity, whereas the urban group did not. These findings demonstrate that a 40-min nature walk enhances executive control at a neural level, providing a potential neural mechanism for attention restoration in nature.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52205-1 |
| spellingShingle | Amy S. McDonnell David L. Strayer Immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attention Scientific Reports |
| title | Immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attention |
| title_full | Immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attention |
| title_fullStr | Immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attention |
| title_full_unstemmed | Immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attention |
| title_short | Immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attention |
| title_sort | immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attention |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52205-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT amysmcdonnell immersioninnatureenhancesneuralindicesofexecutiveattention AT davidlstrayer immersioninnatureenhancesneuralindicesofexecutiveattention |