{"id":22563,"date":"2025-04-16T17:46:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T17:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=22563"},"modified":"2025-04-16T17:46:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T17:46:28","slug":"new-study-reveals-long-term-cognitive-effects-of-climate-trauma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-study-reveals-long-term-cognitive-effects-of-climate-trauma\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Reveals Long-Term Cognitive Effects of Climate Trauma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">A new study by UC San Diego reveals that survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire in California experience long-term cognitive impairments, particularly in decision-making, emphasizing the urgent need for mental health interventions in the wake of climate disasters.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b0ffac9c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A recent study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego offers insights into the long-term cognitive impacts suffered by individuals exposed to climate-related disasters. The research, centered on survivors of the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, identified significant difficulties in decision-making among those directly affected. This new understanding underscores the broad-reaching consequences of climate trauma and the urgent necessity for targeted mental health interventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-025-94672-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Published<\/a> in the journal Scientific Reports, the study&#8217;s findings come at a critical time when wildfires and other climate disasters are becoming increasingly frequent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur previous\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/18\/4\/1487\">research<\/a>\u00a0has shown that survivors of California\u2019s 2018 Camp Fire experience prolonged symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression alongside\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/climate\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pclm.0000125\">hyper-distractibility<\/a>,\u201d senior author Jyoti Mishra, an associate professor at UC San Diego\u2019s School of Medicine and co-director of the University of California Climate Resilience Initiative, said in a news release. \u201cThis new study suggests that climate trauma may also impact important cognitive abilities of decision-making and underlying brain function.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study involved 75 participants divided into three groups: those directly exposed to the fire, those indirectly exposed and a control group with no exposure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through decision-making tasks combined with Electroencephalogram (EEG) brain recordings, the researchers evaluated the participants&#8217; ability to select options with long-term benefits, known as &#8220;Win-Stay&#8221; behavior. The results revealed a notable deficiency among wildfire survivors in maintaining choices that offered long-term rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We interpret this to mean that their brain was attempting to focus on making sound decisions, but they were unable to,&#8221; added first author Jason Nan, a UC San Diego bioengineering graduate student. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">EEG scans indicated heightened activity in the parietal brain region, specifically the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), which is associated with deep thought and rumination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The implications of these findings are profound. As climate disasters intensify, understanding the cognitive shifts caused by such trauma becomes essential. This insight could pave the way for new diagnostic tools and personalized treatments tailored for those affected. Potential interventions include mindfulness and compassion training, practices shown to suppress ruminating thoughts and mitigate the effects of trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The California Climate Resilience Initiative is prioritizing the mobilization of early post-disaster intervention resources. Future research will focus on studying pre- versus post-disaster cognitive changes, investigating the long-term effects of repeated exposure to climate trauma and developing scalable mental health interventions for affected communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additional co-authors of the study include Satish Jaiswal and Dhakshin Ramanathan from UC San Diego and Mathew C. Withers from Utah Valley University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:17px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/today.ucsd.edu\/story\/climate-related-trauma-can-have-lasting-effects-on-decision-making-study-finds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">University of California, San Diego<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego offers insights into the long-term cognitive impacts suffered by individuals exposed to climate-related disasters. The research, centered on survivors of the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, identified significant difficulties in decision-making among those directly affected. This new understanding underscores the broad-reaching [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[206,298],"class_list":["post-22563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate-and-environment","tag-uc-san-diego","tag-utah-valley-university"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A recent study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego offers insights into the long-term cognitive impacts suffered by individuals exposed to climate-related disasters. The research, centered on survivors of the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, identified significant difficulties in decision-making among those directly affected. This new understanding underscores the broad-reaching&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22563"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22592,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22563\/revisions\/22592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}