Table S1.
Talairach coordinates | ||||||
Region | x | y | z | Voxels | F | P |
Left middle occipital gyrus | −36 | −78 | 1 | 12,181 | 44.17 | <0.0001 |
Right supramarginal gyrus | 55 | −45 | 27 | 7,264 | 30.78 | <0.0001 |
Right superior temporal gyrus | 55 | 13 | −9 | 3,911 | 14.12 | <0.001 |
Right medial frontal gyrus | 5 | 5 | 50 | 3,227 | 18.49 | <0.001 |
Right posterior cingulate | 2 | −52 | 22 | 1,729 | 19.93 | <0.001 |
Coordinates refer to the location of peak activity in Talairach space; voxels are in 1-mm3 units and refer to the size of the cluster in which the interaction of time-by-environment was significant, P < 0.05, FWE corrected; F refers to the F-statistic of the interaction effect, with the corresponding P value. As we did not conduct behavioral assessments for further investigating effects in these regions of the brain, the behaviors and processes for which these activations are neural correlates remain a matter of speculation. Taken as a whole, however, the overall pattern of a decrease in activity in these areas in the nature vs. urban experience support our hypothesis. Although it is unclear why we would observe a difference in visual processing (occipital gyrus), differences in activation of other areas support the idea that nature experience results in a decrease in inner mentation. The supramarginal gyrus has been shown to be involved in sensory processing and social cognition, especially as it relates to perspective taking and perceptions regarding emotions (53–55). The superior temporal gyrus has been associated with auditory and language processing of self-directed, internal speech, and social cognition (56, 57). Differences between groups in perfusion to the medial frontal gyrus may result from a variety of causes, including changes in executive functioning, such as in formulating plans and cognitive models of the world (58). The observed interaction in the posterior cingulate is of most relevance to our primary findings, as this area of the brain has been associated with autobiographical processing (59).