Frontal brain activity can be a marker for cognitive effort, suggesting that people exposed to the fires may be having more difficulty processing distractions and compensating by exerting more effort. The frontal lobe is the center for the brain’s higher-level functions. People who were exposed to the wildfire had greater frontal lobe activity while dealing with distractions. We also found differences in the brain processes underlying these cognitive differences. We found that both groups of people exposed to the fire, either directly or indirectly, dealt with distractions less accurately than the control group. The groups were well matched for age and gender. The study included three groups of individuals: people who were directly exposed to the fire, people who were indirectly exposed, and a control group with no exposure.
Grennan et al., 2022, PLOS Climate, CC BY The image on the right shows significant differences in electrical brain activity recorded on the scalp between people directly exposed to wildfires and a control group, with greater activity in left frontal cortex (red) for the group directly exposed. We also found a graded effect: People whose homes or families were directly affected by fire showed greater mental health harm than those where who were indirectly effected, meaning people who witnessed the event in their community but did not have a personal loss.Ī wireless EEG cap records brain activity as a person responds to cognitive tests.
In previous research, colleagues and I showed that in the aftermath of the 2018 fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, California, chronic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression were highly prevalent in the affected communities more than six months after the disaster. Psychological trauma from extreme weather and climate events, such as wildfires, can have long-term impacts on survivors’ brains and cognitive functioning, especially how they process distractions, my team’s new research shows.Ĭlimate change is increasingly affecting people around the world, including through extreme heat, storm damage and life-threatening events like wildfires. The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
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