October 14, 2017
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Your Brain on Nostalgia
Interesting, but objects also do the same thing for me.
The poet WH Auden coined the word ‘topophilia’ in 1948 to describe the sense of belonging people experience when returning to an important place from their past. Scientists have recorded that nostalgic reaction in the brain using MRI scans. Research suggests that going back to meaningful places sparks significant mental and emotional changes which boosts well being.
"MRI opens a window into the brain allowing us to explore automatic emotional responses, scientifically demonstrating a tangible link between people and places that is often difficult to verbally describe.
"With meaningful places generating a significant response in areas of the brain known to process emotion, it's exciting to understand how deep rooted this connection truly is."
The study involved 20 people who were asked to bring photographs of ten important objects and ten meaningful places to the lab, where their brains were scanned when looking at each.
Meaningful places not only triggered a far stronger response than common places in the amygdala, but also in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex which is responsible for activating positive emotions and memories. There was also a boost in activity in the Parahippocampal Place Area, a part of the brain linked to feelings of self.
A separate survey involving 2,000 people was also carried out to find out how important places were. Two thirds of those surveyed said their special place makes them feel calm and provided an escape from everyday life while almost half said it helped them to re-evaluate stress and worries. Nine out 10 people said they would be upset if their meaningful place was lost.
