Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Aug 29:18:1436179.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1436179. eCollection 2024.

Neurosustainability

Mohamed Hesham Khalil  1
Affiliations

Neurosustainability

Mohamed Hesham Khalil. Front Hum Neurosci. .

Erratum in

  • Corrigendum: Neurosustainability.
    Khalil MH. Khalil MH. Front Hum Neurosci. 2024 Nov 22;18:1524620. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1524620. eCollection 2024. Front Hum Neurosci. 2024. PMID: 39651492 Free PMC article.

Abstract

While the human brain has evolved extraordinary abilities to dominate nature, modern living has paradoxically trapped it in a contemporary "cage" that stifles neuroplasticity. Within this modern environment lurk unseen natural laws with power to sustain the human brain's adaptive capacities - if consciously orchestrated into the environments we design. For too long our contemporary environments have imposed an unyielding static state, while still neglecting the brain's constant adaptive nature as it evolves to dominate the natural world with increasing sophistication. The theory introduced in this article aims to go back in nature without having to go back in time, introducing and expounding Neurosustainability as a novel paradigm seeing beyond the contemporary confines to architect environments and brains in parallel. Its integrated neuro-evidenced framework proposes four enrichment scopes-spatial, natural, aesthetic, and social-each holding multifaceted attributes promising to sustain regions like the hippocampus, cortex and amygdala. Neurosustainability aims to liberate the quintessential essence of nature to sustain and enhance neuroplastic processes through a cycle that begins with design and extends through epigenetic changes. This paradigm shift aims to foster cognitive health and wellness by addressing issues like stress, depression, anxiety and cognitive decline common in the contemporary era thereby offering a path toward a more neurosustainable era aiming to nurture the evolution of the human brain now and beyond.

Keywords: adult hippocampal neurogenesis; amygdala; cortical thickness; environmental enrichment; human brain health; mental health and modern lifestyles; nature; neuroplasticity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Neurosustainability.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The neurosustainability framework.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Neurosustainability through spatial enrichment: variables and attributes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Neurosustainability through natural enrichment: variables and attributes.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Neurosustainability through aesthetic enrichment: variables and attributes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ai Y., Hummel T., Nie H., Yang J., Han P. (2023). Reduced neural responses to pleasant odor stimuli after acute psychological stress is associated with cortisol reactivity. NeuroImage 284:120474. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120474 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aletta F., Oberman T., Kang J. (2018). Associations between positive health-related effects and soundscapes perceptual constructs: a systematic review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 15:2392. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15112392, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alqassim A. Y., Mahfouz M. S., Hakami M. M., Al Faqih A. A., Shugairi A. A., Alsanosy M. R., et al. . (2022). Depression, anxiety, stress and their association with the use of electronic devices among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int. J. Ment. Health Promot. 24, 251–262. doi: 10.32604/ijmhp.2022.019000 - DOI
    1. Awadh O. (2017). Sustainability and green building rating systems: LEED, BREEAM, GSAS and Estidama critical analysis. J. Build. Eng. 11, 25–29. doi: 10.1016/j.jobe.2017.03.010 - DOI
    1. Baceviciene M., Jankauskiene R. (2022). The mediating effect of nature restorativeness, stress level, and nature connectedness in the association between nature exposure and quality of life. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 19:2098. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042098, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources