Climate change on the brain: Neural correlates of climate anxiety.

Climate change is a global crisis impacting individuals' mental health. Climate anxiety is an emerging area of interest within popular culture and the scientific community. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms underlying climate anxiety. We provide evidence that climate anxiety is related to gray matter volume in the midcingulate cortex as well as its level of functional connectivity with the insula cortex. These neuroanatomical and neurofunctional features of climate anxiety are involved in identifying and anticipating potential threats within the environment and preparing an appropriate action response to such threats. These neural correlates align with those observed in anxiety disorders. Yet, climate anxiety itself as well as the neural correlates of climate anxiety were related to pro-environmental behavior. This may suggest that the midcingulate and insula are part of a network linked to an adaptive aspect of climate anxiety in motivating behavioral engagement. • Greater levels of climate anxiety associated with lower levels of midcingulate cortex gray matter volume. • Greater levels of climate anxiety associated with greater functional coupling between the midcingulate and insula cortices. • Pro-environmental behavior was correlated with greater climate anxiety and lower midcingulate cortex volume. • Structural and functional components of the brain's salience network linked to climate anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]