Urban dwellers are more likely to develop mental disorders such as mood
and anxiety disorder as well as schizophrenia compared to rural dwellers.
Moreover, it has been demonstrated that even short-term exposure to
nature can improve mood and decrease stress, but the underlying neural
mechanisms are currently under investigation. In the present intervention
study, we examined the effects of a one-hour walk in an urban vs. natural
environment on activity in the amygdala, a brain region previously associated
with stress processing. Before and after the walk 63 participants underwent an
fMRI paradigm inducing social stress. Since there is a pronounced gap in the
literature regarding interindividual differences in stress-related neural effects
of urban and natural environments, we set out to explore sex differences.
We observed that amygdala activity decreased after the walk in nature, but
only in women, suggesting that women may profit more from salutogenic
effects of nature. Moreover, performance on the arithmetic tasks improved in
women after the walk in nature, whereas men performed better after the walk
in the urban environment. Few studies report differential tendencies in men
and women concerning the stress-related neural effects of acute exposure
to an urban vs. natural environments. Furthermore, our findings highlight the
importance of sex differences when exploring effects of the environment on
brain function and stress Evidence for beneficial effects of nature on stressrelated
brain regions may inform urban design policies to focus on providing
more accessible green areas in cities and this study suggests that sex differences
in experiencing the environment should be taken into consideration.