Neurobiophilia

It is in our nature to be linked to nature. This connection is being severed as we lead more urban lives. When I first began studying the research in this area it was hard to find information on the internet. In the last year it's been heartening to see this area explode with information. There are many people fascinated with exploring how nature effects humans.

Neurobiophilia is a term coined by Tierney Thys it "is a subdiscipline of neuroscience that explores how functions and dynamics of the human brain respond to nature." In the National Geographic video This is Your Brain on Nature, Tierney Thys, Tan Le and Nalini Nadkarni talk about how their expertise brings different perspectives to neurobiophilia. Some of the ocean footage they use in their research comes from my partners at Ocean Ark Alliance. I am particularly taken by Nadkarni's trials within U.S. prisons. Prisoners in solitary confinement who choose to watch nature images have reported that it calms them down. That's what I'm aiming for a way to settle my mind, a calmer world.