How the physical environment shapes the human brain

Project Information

BrainScape

Grant agreement ID: 101086188

DOI

10.3030/101086188

EC signature date 17 April 2023

Start date 1 July 2023

End date 30 June 2028

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 999 600,00

EU contribution

€ 1 999 600,00

Coordinated by

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Germany

CORDIS provides links to public deliverables and publications of HORIZON projects.

Links to deliverables and publications from FP7 projects, as well as links to some specific result types such as dataset and software, are dynamically retrieved from OpenAIRE .

Publications

Peer reviewed articles (32)

Style mixing houses: The role of high- and low-level visual features in human house facade evaluation

Author(s): Kira Pohlmann, Nour Tawil, Timothy R. Brick, Simone Kühn
Published in: Acta Psychologica, Issue 262, 2026, ISSN 0001-6918
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.ACTPSY.2025.106126

Gene-environment interplay in the relationship between the visibility of the environment and self-reported depression in early midlife: a Finnish twin cohort study

Author(s): Zhiyang Wang; Stephanie Zellers; Maarit Piirtola; Sari Aaltonen; Jessica Salvatore; Danielle Dick; Simone Kühn; Jaakko Kaprio
Published in: medRxiv, 2025, ISSN 3067-2007
Publisher: medRxiv
DOI: 10.1101/2025.05.23.25328215

Are we afraid of the woods? – An investigation of the implicit and explicit fear reactions to forests

Author(s): Djo Juliette Fischer; Frederik Schröer; Saskia Denecke; Lawrence Murphy; Simone Kühn
Published in: Environmental Research, 2024, ISSN 1096-0953
Publisher: Elsevier
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2024.119573

When houses wear faces: Reverse correlation applied to architectural design

Author(s): Kira Pohlmann, Nour Tawil, Timothy R. Brick, Simone Kühn
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, Issue 98, 2024, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2024.102401

Can a nature walk change your brain? Investigating hippocampal brain plasticity after one hour in a forest

Author(s): Sonja Sudimac, Simone Kühn
Published in: Environmental Research, Issue 262, 2024, ISSN 0013-9351
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2024.119813

Frontiers in Psychology

Author(s): Sandra Weber; Anna Mascherek; Jobst Augustin; Bastian Cheng; Götz Thomalla; Hanno Hoven; Volker Harth; Matthias Augustin; Jürgen Gallinat; Simone Kühn; Simone Kühn
Published in: Frontiers in Psychology, 2024, ISSN 1664-1078
Publisher: Frontiers Research Foundation
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1267900

Journal of Environmental Psychology

Author(s): Mascherek, Anna; Düzel, Sandra; Eibich, Peter; Krekel, Christian; Goebel, Jan; Gallinat, Jürgen; Wagner, Gert G.; Lindenberger, Ulman; Kühn, Simone
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2024, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2023.102224

Investigating effects of day-to-day variations in environmental exposure on the human brain: the Day2Day Environment project

Author(s): Kim Falkenstein; Claire Pauley; Simone Kühn
Published in: Crossref, 2025, ISSN 2330-1635
Publisher: Crossref
DOI: 10.31234/OSF.IO/WT5ZS_V1

Subjective evaluation of home environment and levels of self‐reported depression in middle to old age: Results from the HCHS study

Author(s): Leonie Ascone; Anna Mascherek; Sandra Weber; Djo Fischer; Jobst Augustin; Bastian Cheng; Götz Thomalla; Matthias Augustin; Birgit‐Christiane Zyriax; Jürgen Gallinat; Simone Kühn
Published in: Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2024, ISSN 1097-4679
Publisher: Wiley
DOI: 10.1002/jclp.23656

Low-Level Visual Features of Window Views Contribute to Perceived Naturalness and Mental Health Outcomes

Author(s): Larissa Samaan; Leonie Klock; Sandra Weber; Mirjam Reidick; Leonie Ascone; Simone Kühn
Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2024, ISSN 1660-4601
Publisher: MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21050598

Scientific Reports

Author(s): Mostajeran, F.; Friedrich, M.; Steinicke, F.; Kühn, S. ; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6823-7969; Stuerzlinger, W.
Published in: Scientific Reports, 2025, ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher: Springer
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-025-19113-4

Meadows or asphalt road – Does momentary affective well-being vary with immediate physical environment? Results from a geographic ecological momentary assessment study in three metropolitan areas in Germany

Author(s): Anna Mascherek, Gloria Luong, Cornelia Wrzus, Michaela Riediger, Simone Kühn
Published in: Environmental Research, Issue 264, 2025, ISSN 0013-9351
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2024.120283

Informing the redesign of psychiatric seclusion rooms: a mixed-methods pre-evaluation with individuals with lived experience

Author(s): Leonie Ascone, Candelaria Mahlke, Nour Tawil, Larissa Samaan, Martin Frisch, Lena Nugent, Rebecca Nixdorf, Florian Börncke, Daniel Lüdecke, Rabea Fischer, Nora Bach, Cindy Hackbarth, Timothy McCall, Jürgen Gallinat, Simone Kühn
Published in: BMC Psychiatry, Issue 26, 2026, ISSN 1471-244X
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1186/S12888-026-07780-0

Scientific Reports

Author(s): Izabela Maria Sztuka; Simone Kühn
Published in: Scientific Reports, 2024, ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher: Springer Science
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-024-84988-8

Impact of exposure to natural versus urban soundscapes on brain functional connectivity, BOLD entropy and behavior

Author(s): Emil Stobbe, Caroline Garcia Forlim, Simone Kühn
Published in: Environmental Research, 2024, ISSN 0013-9351
Publisher: Academic Press
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2023.117788

Comparing aesthetic preferences and agreement ratings in depictions of natural and urban environments

Author(s): Anna Mascherek, Lawrence Murphy, Martin Lisanik, Simone Kühn
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, Issue 106, 2025, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2025.102709

Journal of Environmental Psychology

Author(s): Moana Beyer; Timothy R. Brick; Simone Kühn
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2024, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2024.102293

Resting state network changes induced by experimental inaudible infrasound exposure and associations with self-reported noise sensitivity and annoyance

Author(s): Caroline Garcia Forlim, Leonie Ascone, Christian Koch, Simone Kühn
Published in: Scientific Reports, Issue 14, 2024, ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-024-76543-2

Environment and Behaviour

Author(s): Kühn, S.; Schmalen, K.; Beijers, R.; Tyborowska, A.B.; Tyborowska, A.B.; Roelofs, K.; Roelofs, K.; de Weerth, C.; de Weerth, C.
Published in: Environment and Behavior, 2023, ISSN 0013-9165
Publisher: Sage
DOI: 10.1177/00139165231183095

Infant Care: Predictors of Outdoor Walking, Infant Carrying and Infant Outdoor Sleeping

Author(s): Nicole Rheinheimer; Stefania V. Vacaru; Julie C. van Immerseel; Simone Kühn; Carolina de Weerth
Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2024, ISSN 1660-4601
Publisher: MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21060694

Journal of Environmental Psychology

Author(s): Beyer, M. ; https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0556-4616; Brick, T.; Kühn, S. ; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6823-7969
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2024, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2024.102293

Multi- vs. unimodal forest-bathing in VR to enhance affective and cognitive recovery after acute stress

Author(s): Leonie Ascone, Fariba Mostajeran, Anna Mascherek, Nour Tawil, Thiemo Knaust, Larissa Samaan, Simone Kühn
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, Issue 105, 2025, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2025.102637

Nature exposure induces analgesic effects by acting on nociception-related neural processing

Author(s): Maximilian O. Steininger, Mathew P. White, Lukas Lengersdorff, Lei Zhang, Alexander J. Smalley, Simone Kühn, Claus Lamm
Published in: Nature Communications, Issue 16, 2025, ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-025-56870-2

Natural vs. built visual urban landscape elements around the home and their associations with mental and brain health of residents: A narrative review

Author(s): Marie Sander, Anne Klimesch, Larissa Samaan, Simone Kühn, Jobst Augustin, Leonie Ascone
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, Issue 104, 2025, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2025.102559

Multi- vs. unimodal forest-bathing in VR to enhance affective and cognitive recovery after acute stress

Author(s): Leonie Ascone, Fariba Mostajeran, Anna Mascherek, Nour Tawil, Thiemo Knaust, Larissa Samaan, Simone Kühn
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, Issue 105, 2025, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2025.102637

Environmental neuroscience unravels the pathway from the physical environment to mental health

Author(s): Simone Kühn, Jürgen Gallint
Published in: Nature Mental Health, 2023, ISSN 2731-6076
Publisher: Springer
DOI: 10.1038/s44220-023-00137-6

Interactive room design as a tool for understanding form and style preferences

Author(s): Kira Pohlmann, Noah Lichtlein, Fariba Mostajeran, Nour Tawil, Simone Kühn
Published in: Scientific Reports, Issue 15, 2025, ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-025-23543-5

The effect of the physical environment on adolescents’ sense of justice

Author(s): André Vilela Komatsu, Simone Kühn
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, Issue 103, 2025, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2025.102582

Visualising and understanding human evaluation of house facades: GAN applied to environmental psychology

Author(s): Kira Pohlmann, Nour Tawil, Timothy R. Brick, Ehsan Yaghoubi, Simone Kühn
Published in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, Issue 107, 2025, ISSN 0272-4944
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVP.2025.102803

Immersive videos of natural and urban environments can enhance awe and psychological well-being

Author(s): Lisa L. Barth; Fariba Mostajeran; Frank Steinicke; Bernhard E. Riecke; Simone Kühn; Simone Kühn; Simone Kühn
Published in: Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2025, ISSN 2673-4192
Publisher: Frontiers
DOI: 10.3389/FRVIR.2025.1532991

Investigating associations between the physical living environment and hippocampus in adulthood and older age

Author(s): Johanna Drewelies, Angela Fiedler, Timothy R. Brick, Simone Kühn
Published in: Environmental Research, Issue 267, 2025, ISSN 0013-9351
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2024.120728

Compassion-focused virtual reality for individuals with a psychotic disorder: a randomized-controlled pilot study

Author(s): Leonie Ascone, Fariba Mostajeran, Hendrik Hagen, Florian Börncke, Leonie Klock, Jürgen Gallinat, Simone Kühn
Published in: Psychosis, Issue 18, 2026, ISSN 1752-2439
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
DOI: 10.1080/17522439.2025.2545769