Summary:
This scoping review examined neuroimaging research on how exposure to nature may affect the brain, attention, stress, and emotional well-being. The study brought together findings from 108 peer-reviewed studies across laboratory, real-world, and virtual settings. The review was based on the idea that nature exposure is often linked to better mental and physical well-being, but that the underlying brain mechanisms are still not fully understood. To address this, this study evaluated evidence across different types of natural experiences, study designs, and sensory formats in order to identify common neural patterns and gaps in the literature. The researchers found that exposure to natural environments was generally associated with lower activity in brain systems linked to stress and self-focused thinking, along with brain activity patterns consistent with improved attention and restoration. Some findings also suggested possible longer-term benefits for brain structure and white matter linked to cognitive function. However, this study also noted that the evidence base is mixed, with differences in methods, settings, and measures across studies, and that many of the included studies were correlational rather than strongly causal. Overall, this study suggests that nature exposure may support mental well-being through measurable effects on brain function, but more rigorous long-term research is needed to confirm how these effects work.
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Abstract:
The relationship between natural environments and human cognition has gathered increasing attention across disciplines, including neuroscience, environmental psychology, and public health. An expanding body of empirical evidence supports the notion that exposure to nature consistently promotes psychological and physiological well-being. However, our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying these benefits remains limited. This scoping review synthesizes experimental findings from neuroimaging studies that have examined the effects of natural stimuli on brain function and cognitive-affective processing. Across real-world settings, controlled laboratory environments, and virtual reality, convergent neuroimaging findings from EEG, fMRI, fNIRS, and structural MRI indicate that exposure to natural stimuli is reliably associated with (i) acute reductions in activity within stress-related and self-referential circuits, (ii) shifts toward alpha/theta-dominated and more integrated large-scale network states consistent with attentional restoration, and (iii) longer-term macrostructural and white-matter advantages linked to cognition. While acknowledging heterogeneity, potential confounding, and predominantly correlational designs, these results are starting to delineate candidate neural mechanisms and moderators, which future research should test in preregistered, longitudinal, and mechanistic trials. These results highlight the potential role of natural environments for promoting mental health, with implications for neuroscience and public policy aimed at cultivating human well-being.
Article Publication Date: 20/01/2026
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106565
