The Environmental Neuroscience Lab at the University of Chicago
is interested in how the physical environment affects the brain and behavior. Previous findings from the ENL show that brief interactions with natural environments (such as walks in a park) can improve memory and attention by 20%. Studies in our lab have examined how interacting with natural environments promotes these improvements, investigating brain networks that underlie the relationship between environment and behavior. We hope to further understand which features of the natural environment lead to improvements in memory and attention as well as identify other manipulations that increase brain efficiency. Our current research examines how physical and social characteristics of urban spaces –including social cohesion, physical disorder, heat, and greenspace– (1) affect interactions between individuals in different neighborhoods and (2) relate to crime. In pursuit of this question, we are using deep learning approaches to analyze large set of social networking, image, and video data from sources including Twitter, Reddit, Yelp, Google Street View, and Sage. With a better understanding and quantification of the relationships between the brain, behavior, and the environment, we hope our research will influence the design of physical spaces in ways that will optimize human mental health, physical health, and overall well-being.
![Lab_photo](https://voices.uchicago.edu/bermanlab/files/2017/01/Lab_photo.jpg)
NEWS
Professor Berman won APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology
The American Psychological Association (APA) announced the recipients of the 2019 APA Distinguished Scientific Awards this May. Professor Marc Berman was Awarded for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. "These awards are among the highest...
Marc Berman awarded APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions
The principal investigator at ENL, Dr. Marc Berman has been recognized with the 2018 APS Janet Taylor Spence Awards for Transformative Early Career Contributions. "The award, named for APS’s first elected president, honors the most creative and promising researchers...
Professor Berman was interviewed by The Guardian
The Guardian recently interviewed Professor Berman on the critiques of Melania Trump's White House holiday decorations, the red Christmas trees. He indicated that although the "low-level fractal structure in things" is still in the trees, "the color is completely...