Greenspace Exposure Supports Brain Development and Mental Health in Adolescents

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by News-Medical.

Researchers have found that greenspace exposure is associated with widespread patterns of structural brain development during early adolescence, which in turn are associated with better academic and mental outcomes. The findings of the study in Biological Psychiatry, emphasize the need to integrate natural environments into urban and educational settings and provide key insights for policymakers, parents, and educators to support adolescent well-being.

This is the first study to examine the influence of greenspace exposure on structural neurodevelopmental trajectories and which tests whether these trajectories mediate the relationship between greenspace exposure and positive academic or mental health outcomes.

John Krystal, MD, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, comments, “We tend to focus on the detrimental effects and negative aspects of our environment. It is equally important to highlight exposure to green spaces and other positive environments and their contributions to human thriving and resilience.”

Investigators analyzed data from more than 7,000 ethnically diverse adolescents in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study from 21 sites across the United States to test the relationship between greenspace exposure at age 9-10 and brain structure two years later as well as change over time. Additionally, they tested whether brain structural development statistically mediated the associations of greenspace exposure with mental health and academic performance.

Co-lead investigator Qingyang Li, MSc, Neuroimaging Department, Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry & Neuroscience, King’s College London, explains, “We found greenspace exposure to be associated with brain structural changes at both whole-brain and regional-brain levels. We also found an indirect effect of greenspace exposure on better academic and mental outcomes through both total and regional cortical structure independent of household and neighborhood disadvantage.”

Source: News-Medical
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250603/Greenspace-exposure-supports-brain-development-and-mental-health-in-adolescents.aspx