Human brains are hard-wired to enjoy the calm of the countryside – while cities make us confused, anxious and aggressive

Looking at rural images makes the limbic or 'calm' area of the brain light up

Whereas images of cities cause the ‘visual complexity’ area to be activated

This causes anxiety, confusion and can increase levels of aggression

Researchers compared this to how animals feel when kept in zoos

Many of us dream of escaping to the calm and tranquillity of the countryside, leaving the rat race behind - and it seems this may be due to the fact our brain is telling us to.

Researchers from Exeter have discovered we are hard-wired to seek out rural landscapes because they make us feel calm, while cities confuse us and make us aggressive - even if we’ve only ever lived in urban areas.

This could be due to the fact humans lived in rural environments for hundreds of years, or may be because our brains just aren’t equipped to handle the huge amounts of stimuli in busy cityscapes.



Scientists from Exeter University studied what happened to people's brains when they were shown images of rural and urban landscapes. They found that when people look at rural environments, pictured, the limbic system and area of their brain associated with calm and peacefulness lights up

WHY LIVING NEAR BUSY ROADS IS DANGEROUS - BUT JUST FOR MEN

Living near busy roads could put men at higher risk of premature death - even when air pollution levels are rated as ‘safe’, claim researchers. A major study from Utrecht University in the Netherlands found exposure to traffic pollutants can push up the risk of dying by seven per cent, compared with living in quieter neighbourhoods. They estimate that for every increase of 5 micrograms per cubic metre (5 µg/m3) in annual exposure to PM 2.5, the risk of dying from rises by seven per cent. The risk of death increased only in men, not in women.



To test their theory of rural versus urban living, scientists at Exeter University wired up participants to an MRI scanner before showing them images of cities and country landscapes.



When rural images were flashed onto a screen, the limbic area of the brain was activated and lit up on the scanner.

This area is associated with feelings of calm and peacefulness and is part of the brain shared with monkeys and primates.

However, when images of cities and busy streets were shown to the participants, the area of the brain associated with ‘visual complexity’ - the visual cortex in the occipital lobe - was activated.

This caused the brain to try and scan the image, make sense of everything it was seeing and process all the information, which can lead to confusion and anxiety.



This was even the case when ‘dull’ rural images were shown leading the researchers to conclude its not just idyllic-looking places that cause this feeling of calm.

These findings are just preliminary results shared with The Independent and the researchers plan to test the theory further to find out exactly why this happens.



Images of cities, such as Chicago pictured, cause the 'visual complexity' area of brains to be activated. This can cause anxiety, confusion and increase levels of aggression while the brain tries to process everything it's looking at. Researchers found this was the case even when people were born in the city

Dr Ian Frampton, an Exeter University psychologist told The Independent: ‘When looking at urban environments the brain is doing a lot of processing because it doesn’t know what this environment is.

‘The brain doesn’t have an immediate natural response to it, so it has to get busy.

‘Even if you have lived in a city all your life, it seems your brain doesn’t quite know what to do with this information and has to do visual processing.’

When the brain is confused and anxious it can also lead to increases in angry and aggressive behaviour and Professor Michael Depledge, also from the university, siad that a similar experience is seen in zoos.

‘If you don’t get the conditions right in zoos, the animals start behaving in a wacky way.

