Climate change is an undeniable fact that is already affecting millions of people and will certainly affect many more in the near future. Despite this global danger, that is threatening our economies and even to a certain extent our lives, there is a lack of immediate response at institutional but also individual level. How does it come that the human brain cannot interpret this menace and act against it quickly to avoid the (massive) harm that may ensue? Neuroscience, in its broad sense, is well-equipped to start answering this question and can potentially help to propose solutions. In fact, different levels of comprehension are studied in Neuroscience to understand the emergence of complex behaviors at individual or group levels:
1) At the macro-scale, social neuroscience, psychology and cognitive neuroscience have been studying decision-making processes, including strategies and biases that may guide and alter these abilities at population or individual levels, as well as a the effectiveness and mechanisms of interventions that may facilitate (or hamper) behavioral change.
2) At the meso-scale, brain imaging, neurophysiology and animal research have extensively described brain circuits governing behavioral responses to uncertainty, fear, and other emotional or cognitive features that are engaged while facing climate crisis and its consequence.
3) At the micro-scale, cellular and molecular biology identified multiple chemical messengers and cellular pathways which permanently modified the above cited brain circuits.
Thus, as a community, neuroscience research has its role to play to better understand our reactions and inaction towards the climate crisis. By reinterpreting the central premises governing human behavior, from social interactions at the population level to individual brain mechanisms, we propose in this topic to gather original work, reviews and opinions based on neuroscientific approaches to unravel brain and behavioral responses to the climate crisis and to possibly offer new avenues to tackle insufficient human action regarding climate change.
Climate change is an undeniable fact that is already affecting millions of people and will certainly affect many more in the near future. Despite this global danger, that is threatening our economies and even to a certain extent our lives, there is a lack of immediate response at institutional but also individual level. How does it come that the human brain cannot interpret this menace and act against it quickly to avoid the (massive) harm that may ensue? Neuroscience, in its broad sense, is well-equipped to start answering this question and can potentially help to propose solutions. In fact, different levels of comprehension are studied in Neuroscience to understand the emergence of complex behaviors at individual or group levels:
1) At the macro-scale, social neuroscience, psychology and cognitive neuroscience have been studying decision-making processes, including strategies and biases that may guide and alter these abilities at population or individual levels, as well as a the effectiveness and mechanisms of interventions that may facilitate (or hamper) behavioral change.
2) At the meso-scale, brain imaging, neurophysiology and animal research have extensively described brain circuits governing behavioral responses to uncertainty, fear, and other emotional or cognitive features that are engaged while facing climate crisis and its consequence.
3) At the micro-scale, cellular and molecular biology identified multiple chemical messengers and cellular pathways which permanently modified the above cited brain circuits.
Thus, as a community, neuroscience research has its role to play to better understand our reactions and inaction towards the climate crisis. By reinterpreting the central premises governing human behavior, from social interactions at the population level to individual brain mechanisms, we propose in this topic to gather original work, reviews and opinions based on neuroscientific approaches to unravel brain and behavioral responses to the climate crisis and to possibly offer new avenues to tackle insufficient human action regarding climate change.
