I live in New York City, and for me, there’s nothing that
compares to its culture, energy and convenience. I’m not alone
in feeling this way — more than half of the world’s population
now lives in urban areas. But I also know that when it comes to
mental health, the urban lifestyle may not be such a good thing.
City dwellers tend to be more stressed and have higher levels of
mood disorders and psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia
than those living in rural or suburban areas. And now
researchers say they have uncovered certain changes in brain
activity that could potentially help explain why. In an
international study, researchers at University of Heidelberg and
the Douglas Mental Health University Institute at McGill
University report in the journal Nature that people who live or
were raised in cities show distinct differences in activity in
certain brain regions than those who aren’t city dwellers. Those
who currently live in the city, for example, showed higher
activation the amygdala, the brain region