环境、神经科学与人类行为

Environment, Neuroscience, and Human Behavior

（Image credit: Max Planck Institute for Human Development)

For decades, environmental scientists and toxicologists have studied the impact of environmental factors, most notably anthropogenic contaminants, on human health. Volumes of scientific literature have been published, brilliantly elucidating those findings and concepts. These constitute the foundation of modern environmental science and toxicology.

But their impact may go well beyond that. Humans are highly intelligent species. They think. They generate ideas. They formulate opinions. They make choices and decisions. Hundreds of decisions every day. And they show affections and compassion.

The understanding of human behavior has advanced from empirical, observational studies to cellular or even molecular-level probing. There are observable, scientific mechanisms behind human emotions and behaviors, from motivation, decision-making, cognitive functions, to social activities. Although not well understood today, they have deep roots in neuroscience — the science of studying the structures and functions of the human brain and nervous system.

Environmental neuroscience explores any persistent, transient, or latent impact of the environment, such as light, noise, air, temperature, radiation, pollutants, or other environmental factors, with a focus on how our changing environment and technologies affect the human mind and behavior, as well as the chemical and neurological basis of their underlying links. The complexity of our living environments and our frequent interactions with them makes it challenging to characterize these links. Yet, ample evidence has shown the undeniable link between the environment and human behavior, in studies on mental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and Parkinson's disease, and how interactions with natural environments can noticeably improve the cognitive performance and mental health of children.

We want to understand how these environmental factors affect the human brain and nervous system, and how they influence our emotions, decisions, cognitive functions, and behaviors. One interesting example is that taxi drivers in London developed larger hippocampus with enhanced spatial memory, and mice raised in enriched environments performed better in learning new skills. While human brains have evolved to be highly sophisticated, they have also developed particular vulnerabilities to, for instance, addictions. New technologies like smart devices and LED lighting are profoundly changing our living environments, too. Emerging contaminants, radioactive wastes, spillovers of zoonotic pathogens, drug-resistant bacteria, space travel, and the prospect of multi-planetary living means that we humans must adapt to new living environments and variables from cosmic radiation to recently, novel pathogens and lockdowns.

Scientists not only need to find ways for people to live longer, healthier, but happier. There is an essential role for environmental scientists to take on in the ever-longing pursuit of happiness by the humankind. Through various probes and techniques, scientists can tackle the grand challenge of understanding how the environment affects the human mind and behavior. There is a fascinating world full of questions and unknowns that await us to explore. With technological advancements like virtual reality and brain imaging, today we can experiment and explore these like never before.

- Jie Han & Wen Sun, at Xi'an Jiaotong University (2021.08.16) (updated on 2021.09.02)