Neighborhood Beauty and the Brain in Older Japanese Adults

Yukako Tani (), Takeo Fujiwara, Genichi Sugihara, Masamichi Hanazato, Norimichi Suzuki, Masaki Machida, Shiho Amagasa, Hiroshi Murayama, Shigeru Inoue and Yugo Shobugawa
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Yukako Tani: Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
Takeo Fujiwara: Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
Genichi Sugihara: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
Masamichi Hanazato: Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
Norimichi Suzuki: Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
Masaki Machida: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo 160-8402, Japan
Shiho Amagasa: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo 160-8402, Japan
Hiroshi Murayama: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan
Shigeru Inoue: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo 160-8402, Japan
Yugo Shobugawa: Department of Active Ageing (Donated by Tokamachi City, Niigata), Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata 951-8510, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: People have a preference for, and feel better in, beautiful natural environments. However, there are no epidemiological studies on the association between neighborhood beauty and neuroimaging measures. We aimed to determine association between neighborhood beauty and regional brain volume. Participants were 476 community-dwelling older adults from the Neuron to Environmental Impact across Generations (NEIGE) study. Subjective neighborhood beauty was assessed through participants’ perception of beautiful scenery within 1 km of their home. Objective measures of neighborhood indicators (green spaces, blue spaces, and plant diversity) within 1 km of participants’ homes were obtained using a geographic information system. Volumes of brain regions associated with experience of beauty were measured using magnetic resonance imaging. We estimated associations between neighborhood beauty and regional brain volume using linear regression. Of the participants, 42% rated their neighborhoods as very beautiful, and 17% rated them as not at all beautiful. Higher subjective neighborhood beauty was associated with larger bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex and insula volumes (all p for trend < 0.01). Brain volume was not associated with objective neighborhood measures. Subjective neighborhood beauty was associated with brain regions related to rewards and decision making, suggesting that these brain regions underpin the perception of neighborhood beauty.

Keywords: neighborhood environment; brain imaging; beauty; aesthetics; green space; older adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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