Living in a big city can affect the mental health, says a report published by the Associated Press. People living in large urban agglomerations react to stress more intensely than those who live in villages, and have a higher risk of suffering from schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
German researchers from the “Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim” monitored 23 volunteers while they solved mathematical problems with a high degree of difficulty. At the end of the experiment, the volunteers have been criticized for their wrong answers.
EEG and other tests showed that in “urban” volunteers, the amygdale – the brain area that processes emotions, reacted more intense to criticism and stress.
A possible explanation is that people living in big cities are already stressed by other people, by the crowd and noise, doctors believe.