This week is ideal to draft your submission for the #MindBrainBody Symposium 2026 so that you can let it rest over the (potential) holidays and finalise it first thing in 2026 (deadline: January 8, 2026). 😉 Looking forward to seeing you there and - in case - happy holidays! 🎄🧠🫀🫁

New paper involving LIP members @brandmaier.bsky.social & Ulman Lindenberger, LIP alumna Sandra Düzel, as well as colleague Simone Kühn @cen-mpib.bsky.social! 📣

🚨 CEN Colloquium 🚨 The idea that spending time in natural settings can promote health and well-being is not new, so why is it so hard to implement? Today we are lucky to host health and environmental psychologist Mat White @univie.ac.at. Join us! 📅 9 DEC 15:00 📍MPIB & online shorturl.at/VwDe4

🚨 CEN Colloquium 🚨 We are pleased to host Dr Ivan Kroupin @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social for his talk 'From village to metropolis: Predictable and pervasive changes to visual and cognitive environments as a function of general evolutionary pressures' 📅 2 DEC 15:00 📍MPIB & online shorturl.at/JfJgM

New preprint is out! @cen-mpib.bsky.social The Blind Spot in Research on Nature’s Benefits: Restorative versus Instorative Effects and Potential Biases www.researchgate.net/publication/...

🧠From Perception to Appraisal: Hierarchical Brain Responses to Natural and Built Features in Urban Environments🧠 New pre-print from Carolina Zaehme & @izzysander.bsky.social, with @aleksandrskoselevs.bsky.social, Simone Kühn and @mobilebrainimaging.bsky.social Worth reading the whole thread! ⬇️

The rise and future of environmental neuroscience in environmental psychology 🌎 Online 📅 18.11. 3pm CET Lindsay McCunn @viuniversity.bsky.social Both disciplines seek to understand the human condition. How can the connection be strengthened? ➡️ Join us online! shorturl.at/AbkjX #Neuroskyence

Have you ever wondered why your mind suddenly feels unburdened in the presence of trees? Outdoor spaces are scientifically proven to soothe the nervous system—and quickly. VIU Environmental Psychologist Dr. Lindsay McCunn explains for @outsidemag.bsky.social: bit.ly/4lNdCwk

🚨New paper🚨 What makes a room visually appealing? Kira Pohlmann @mpib-berlin.bsky.social led a study asking people to decorate a virtual living room. Most chose angular furniture over curved, challenging the idea that people naturally prefer softer and rounder shapes www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Direktorin Simone Kühne @mpib-berlin.bsky.social ist auch am 13.11. dabei, und wird ein Impulsvortrag um 11.15 Uhr zum Thema 'Ins Grüne? Wie Natur-Erleben Gehirn und Verhalten beeinflussen' halten. ⌚Anmelden für das virtuelle Symposium hier: www.leopoldina.org/veranstaltun...

🚨 The Power of Wellbeing 🚨 Epigenetic Studies in Twins We are thrilled to be co-hosting epigenetics researchers Dr Jenny van Dongen and Dr Meike Bartels at the @mpib-berlin.bsky.social next week. Join us live or online on 4.11. for their fascinating talks. ➡️ shorturl.at/z3v2s ➡️ shorturl.at/p9dW1

One last reminder that I’m recruiting a graduate student through the Cognition & Neural Science area @utah.edu this Fall! The lab uses MRI to study healthy cognitive aging across the adult lifespan and will start assessing factors that moderate cognitive aging (air pollution, cardiovascular health).

We have an open postdoc position in Social Science Genomics in Berlin! Includes gene-environment interplay within German population cohorts & experimental online survey studies to probe public perceptions of potential DNA biomarker applications 🔗 www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/2196134/2025...

🚨CEN Colloquium🚨 Thanks to Andreas Pohlmann for introducing us to his beautiful photographs yesterday. "Nothing is beautiful, nothing is ugly... Every habitat has its own value." "To perpetuate life...this is the beauty of nature." www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/events/43201... @mpib-berlin.bsky.social

💻 Last week 💻 @isdedal.bsky.social and @nourtawil.bsky.social were at the Academy for Neuroscience in Architecture conference presenting their upcoming paper (w Claire Pauley) on how the brain processes face-like house façades 🏠 #ANFA2025 #Neuroscience #Architecture #EnvironmentalNeuroscience

Our director, Simone Kühn is also on the MPSCogs faculty. Applications for PhD positions and scholarships are open now: cognition.maxplanckschools.org/en/application

The new application cycle for our fully funded international graduate program has just started. You can now apply via our website, sign up for a Q&A, or participate in the Applicant Support Program cognition.maxplanckschools.org/en ! 👍🏻🧠👏🏾#passionforscience, #maxplanckschools

The call for Max Planck Research Groups 2025 is open (9 Sep–14 Oct). Postdocs can launch independent careers w/ 6+ yrs, budget, team & world-class support. 👉 mpg.de/max-planck-research-groups #AcademicJobs #PostdocOpportunities #PostdocAppreciationWeek

🌍🧠 Climate change also takes a toll on mental health. The new Lancet Psychiatry Commission @thelancetpsych.bsky.social aims to develop solutions to integrate mental health into climate and health strategies. @cen-mpib.bsky.social is also taking part. 👉 www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/2155581/lanc...

Spot CEN postdoc @marlena-mayer.bsky.social at last week's International Conference on Infant and Early Child Development @lancasteruni.bsky.social. She introduced the MPIB's new #babylab, and presented a study design on infants' visual preferences for natural v urban landscapes 🐿️ #LCICD2025 #funki

Seeing my baby lab vision come to life after I have poured all kinds of brain juices into it for the past 6 months is a strange but rewarding experience. Excited to announce we're finally ready to open! 🐿️ 📍Berlin #mpib #babylab #funki #lnos #environmentalneuroscience

🚨 Call for Speakers! 🚨 We’re looking for women, non-binary and LGBTQIA scientists to join us at @berlinscienceweek.bsky.social 2025 ✨ Together with LGBTQ+ STEM Berlin, we’re hosting two amazing events. Want to take the stage? Apply here 👇🏼 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

📑New CEN pre-print by @johanna-prugger.bsky.social, @isdedal.bsky.social and Simone Kühn is out! 'Urban versus Rural Living: Associations with Mental Health, Physical Health, and Psychological Constructs' osf.io/preprints/ps...

Looking back on the 2025 LIFE Spring Academy at @umich.edu, a space where psychology, neuroscience and education meet to rethink human development. Excited we could add an environmental lens to the discussion #LIFEProgram #EnvNeuro @imprs-life.bsky.social 📷: LIFE Michigan

New preprint from @cen-mpib.bsky.social: our 500-study review on how place shapes mind, body, and brain. 🧠 Urban upbringing alters stress-related brain circuits. 🌿 Rural living linked to resilient prefrontal structure. 🌍 Health disparities & gap in global representation. osf.io/preprints/ps...

🚨We are seeking a student assistant to support web programming @mpib-berlin.bsky.social (Deadline: August 15) There are also opportunities to work with eye tracking, EEG, VR, 3D printing, and scientific computing. See the link for more details!👇 www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/2110361/2025...

Finally: Ecologically valid MRI studies. Seen at Max Planck Campus of Cognition #noai

🚨 Student Job Alert 🚨 Unsere Max Planck Forschgungsgruppe Biosocial – Biology, Social Disparities and Development von @laraffington.bsky.social ist auf der Suche nach einem Student Assistant (w/m/d) (40 Std. / Monat). 👉 mpib-berlin.mpg.de/2103685/2025...

🚨New working group for Psychiatric Environmental Neuroscience (PEN)🚨 PEN, a cooperation between CEN and the Department of Psychiatry led by Prof. Dr. Malek Bajbouj at #Charité Campus Mitte, will extend environmental neuroscience studies to clinical settings, under the leadership of Simone Kühn.

Martin Lövdén visited @mpib-berlin.bsky.social today and delivered some surprising conclusions about the (limited) effects of various interventions on behavior among older adults. The takeaway? To improve cognition in older adults, focus on early development. www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/events/41729...

Do you love #forestbathing, but have no #woods nearby? Rejoice!😀 A new study shows a 360° multisensory virtual #forest immersion with sights, sounds & scents can calm your mind & boost your mood almost as much as the real thing! 🌲❤️ mpg.de/25020718/070... @mpib-berlin.bsky.social

It is with great pleasure that I share MAXMINDS 2.0, a new Max Planck program to support scholars in danger of displacement by war or natural disasters, and who have limited access to resources and institutional support. If you know affected scholars, please share. www.maxminds.mpg.de

Virtuelles Waldbaden mittels Virtual Reality (VR) kann das emotionale Wohlbefinden verbessern – besonders dann, wenn die virtuelle Naturumgebung mehrere Sinne wie Hören, Sehen und Riechen gleichzeitig anspricht. Neue Studie von @cen-mpib.bsky.social und UKE: www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/pressemeldun...

Wow! Das war unsere #LNDW: Rund 950 Besuchende, über 130 Mitwirkende, ein inspirierendes Programm aus Vorträgen, Mitmachaktionen, Führungen und Kunstinstallationen... 🤩 #ScienceForSociety #WissenschaftErleben #DankeTeam

We had a great time attending the ICEP conference in Vilnius this year! Exciting talks, inspiring conversations, and a fantastic chance to share what we're working on at the @mpib-berlin.bsky.social #ICEP2025 #EnvironmentalNeuroscience #EnvironmentalPsychology #ConferenceLife

🦉Was macht eine gesunde Umgebung aus? 🦉 CEN Direktorin Simone Kühn erklärt im Gespräch mit @rbb24.de Inforadio welchen Einfluss Farben und Formen auf unsere mentale #Gesundheit haben und warum man kein Naturfan sein muss, um die positiven Effekte zu spüren. www.inforadio.de/rubriken/wis...

CEN Forscher:innen machen mit und erzählen über unsere spannende umweltneurowissenschaftliche Forschung, vom Waldbaden bis hin zu Babylabs und Naturgeräuschen. Kommt vorbei und testet unsere Spiele aus!

📢 Student assistants sought by RHYME project in Berlin www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/2054781/2025...

🚨 CEN Lecture tomorrow We are very pleased to host Dr. Ellie Ratcliffe from the University of Surrey for a talk about 'The psychological benefits of listening to #birdsong' 📅 4 June 11:00 CET @mpib-berlin.bsky.social or online See the link for more info 🐦 www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/events/41954...

Nature walks do good, right? CEN postdoc @sonjasudimac.bsky.social explores what neuroscientists know, and what we're yet to discover, about the links between nature exposure and mental/brain health. From the archive: why that's important for researchers and urban planners alike 🌱 shorturl.at/7oPXF

🐣🐥 Our institute is not only a habitat for brilliant minds, but also a home to a variety of animals – including a pair of kestrels. Tune in to watch these fascinating birds live as they nest — and soon, feed and raise their young! 📺 Watch the livestream: www.youtube.com/live/iFvcBIl...

The Center for Environmental Neuroscience, led by Simone Kühn at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, is on Bluesky! Speaking of the benefits of virtual spaces... ⬇️⬇️⬇️