A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of EEG, fMRI, and fNIRS Studies on the Psychological Impact of Nature on Well-Being

Exposure to nature has been associated with benefits to human well-being, commonly evaluated using standardized psychological assessments and, more recently, neuroimaging modalities such as Electroencephalography (EEG), functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), and functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). This systematic review and meta-analysis addresses the following questions: (1) How is the impact of nature on wellness studied using psychological and neuroimaging modalities and what does it reveal? (2) What are the challenges and opportunities for the deployment of wearable neuroimaging modalities to understand the impact of nature on brain health and well-being? A search on PubMed, IEEE Xplore, and ClinicalTrials.gov (March 2024) identified 33 studies combining neuroimaging and psychological assessments during exposure to real, virtual or imagined natural environments. Studies were analyzed by tasks, populations, neuroimaging modality, psychological assessment, and methodological quality. Most studies were conducted in Asia (N=23 or 70%). Healthy participants were the dominant target population (70%). 61% of the studies were conducted in natural settings, while 39% used visual imagery. EEG was the most common modality (82%). STAI (N=8), and POMS (N=8) were the most common psychological assessments. Only seven studies included clinical populations. A meta-analysis of nine studies with explicit experimental and control groups revealed a significant positive effect of nature exposure on psychological outcomes (Hedges’ g = 0.30, p = 0.0021), and a larger effect on neurophysiological outcomes (Hedges’ g = 0.43, p = 0.0004), both with moderate-to-high heterogeneity. Overall, exposure to nature was associated with reductions in negative emotions in clinical populations. In contrast, healthy populations showed a more balanced psychological response, with nature exposure being associated with both increases in positive emotions and reductions in negative emotions. Notably, 88% of the studies presented methodological weaknesses, highlighting key opportunities for future neuroengineering research on the neural and psychological effects of nature exposure.