Measuring the Impacts of Urbanicity and Different Exposome Factors on Human Brain through Exposure Network Mapping

Neurosci Bull. 2026 Jun 9. doi: 10.1007/s12264-026-01644-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

While urbanicity increases the risk of mental health issues, its effects on brain networks are heterogeneous and underexplored in relation to different exposome factors. Using a coordinate network mapping strategy termed exposure network mapping (ENM) across eight datasets, this study first consolidated heterogeneous findings of urbanicity to a significant, replicable network involving the middle frontal gyrus, orbital gyrus, and anterior cingulate gyrus. Afterwards, among the other factors examined (air pollution, noise, income, stress, green space), only stress converged into a distinct common network, highlighting the orbital gyrus, caudate, anterior/middle cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, and middle frontal gyrus. This ENM-stress map exhibited the highest correlation with both the ENM-urbanicity map (r = 0.77) and a transdiagnostic map (r = 0.72). In addition, sleep-related coordinates also formed a consistent network, involving the middle cingulate gyrus, orbital gyrus, caudate, and putamen, which correlated strongly with urbanicity (r = 0.75), stress (r = 0.80), and the transdiagnostic pattern (r = 0.55). Collectively, this study highlights the potential risks of urbanicity and stress, as well as the protective role of sleep on brain networks, which may offer new insights for preventing mental health issues in urban environments.

PMID:42262704 | DOI:10.1007/s12264-026-01644-z