Living in the city changes how we think about stress

CITY dwellers appear to think differently to those living in the country, research suggests.

And findings from brain scans may help explain why urbanites are more prone to stress and mental illness than their rural counterparts.

Researchers, writing in the journal Nature, said their results were important as more people turned to town and city life around the world. And mental health campaigners said the findings would help understanding of stress and anxiety.

Past research has shown that city dwellers are more likely to suffer from conditions such as anxiety, stress and mood disorders than those living a more peaceful existence in rural parts.

For the latest study, researchers from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, in Montreal, Canada, compared the brain activity of healthy volunteers from urban and rural areas.They used high-tech functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machinery to look at what was happening in different parts of the brain.

In those volunteers living in the city, the researchers saw a greater stress response in the part of the brain known as the amygdala - associated with emotional regulation and mood - than in the rural dwellers.

They also found that in volunteers who were brought up in an urban environment there was more activity in the part of the brain known as the cingulate cortex - involved in the regulation of negative response and stress.

Researcher Dr Jens Pruessner said: "Previous findings have shown that the risk for anxiety disorders is 21 per cent higher for people from the city, who also have a 39 per cent increase for mood disorders.

"In addition, the incidence for schizophrenia is almost doubled for individuals who are born and brought up in cities.

"These values are a cause for concern and determining the biology behind this is the first step to remedy the trend."

Dr Pruessner said the findings suggested that different parts of the brain were sensitive to the experience of city living during different times across a lifespan.

"Future studies need to clarify the link between psychopathology and these affects in individuals with mental disorders," he said.

"These findings contribute to our understanding of urban environmental risk for mental disorders and health in general.

"They further point to a new approach to interface social sciences, neurosciences and public policy to respond to the major health challenge of urbanisation."Carolyn Roberts, head of policy and campaigns at the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH), said: "It's important we're all aware of the different types of stress we experience, so we can learn how to respond and, where necessary, take action to reduce it.

"This research helps our understanding of the causes of stress and severe anxiety and is particularly relevant in Scotland, with our varied rural and urban populations."