New Research by Tang Prize Laureate Gives Evidence of Negative Mental Impact of Climate Trauma
地球暖化加速了極端氣候和環境災難的發生，唐獎永續發展獎得主維拉布哈德蘭•拉馬納森運用唐獎研究補助費指定加州大學聖地牙哥分校NEATLabs，由主持人Jyoti Mishra教授帶領進行氣候變遷韌性研究，近期在氣候變遷期刊PLOS Climate發表最新研究報告，指出直接暴露於野火等氣候災難創傷者有顯著的認知缺陷，尤其是在視覺干擾下，處理資訊和做出決定方面有更多的困難，這對他們的日常生活與社交能力有不良的影響。該研究報告不但量化分析氣候災難創傷對於大腦功能與和認知能力的影響，更提供受災社區重建和個人康復的關鍵資料，也有助做為神經-認知治療的標的。
另一方面，透過同步的腦電圖偵測大腦神經功能，顯示直接暴露於野火者之大腦額葉-頂葉具有較強的受刺激活動訊號，由於認知能力的關鍵是額葉與頂葉區域的活動，推測該活動訊號為對受野火影響受試者認知控制的補償機制，表明他們實際上付出了更多的認知努力，但仍然表現不佳。這些發現與創傷後壓力症候群(PTSD)患者的反應相似。
這項新研究使用與創傷、焦慮與憂鬱相關之心理學實驗和同步腦電圖 (synchronized EEG)來檢查2018年加州野火如何影響事件發生後 6-12 個月（COVID-19 大流行之前）人們的認知能力。參與者接受了標準認知功能檢查，以評估選擇性注意(selective attention)、反應抑制(response inhibition)、工作記憶(working memory)、非情緒與情緒干擾處理(non-emotional and emotional interference processing)等，並將結果與未暴露於野火的人進行比較。
該研究計劃曾針對725位暴露於2018年加州坎普野火(Camp Fire)的受試者進行調查，發現野火引發創傷後壓力症候群、焦慮與憂鬱等症狀。此次新研究則是針對先前研究的子群體，納入了75名受試者，包括直接暴露於野火，如家園被摧毀的27人、間接暴露如目睹了大火但沒有直接受到影響的21人，還有27名對照組成員。其中67%的直接暴露者報告最近經歷創傷、間接暴露者則有14%、控制組成員則沒有回報遭受創傷。
研究總結指出，隨著氣候暖化，愈來愈多人將會暴露於極端氣候，尋找加強韌性的途徑愈顯重要。因此，該研究透過提出可能的神經-認知治療標的，提供面對氣候變遷引發之極端氣候的一項應對之道。
維拉布哈德蘭•拉馬納森於2018年與詹姆士•漢森同時獲得唐獎第三屆永續發展獎，共同獲得5千萬獎金，其中含1千萬支持相關研究教育計畫。拉馬納森教授是第一個提出氟氯碳化合物（CFC)也屬於溫室氣體的學者。在1975年，拉馬納森教授的研究即指出鹵碳化合物，尤其是用在冷凍及製造的氟氯碳化合物，具有溫室效應的特性，CFC不僅會影響大氣臭氧層，同時也會像二氧化碳一樣，對氣候系統產生衝擊。1985年為保護臭氧層所召開的維也納會議、1987年國際間所簽訂的蒙特婁公約，拉馬納森教授的研究成果都扮演了重要的角色。
Recent years have seen global warming lead to more extreme weather events and more frequent natural disasters. Against this backdrop, Professor Veerabhadran Ramanathan, 2018 Tang Prize laureate in Sustainable Development, decided to allocate part of his Tang Prize grant to the NEATLabs at the University of California, San Diego, to conduct research on climate resilience. Led by Dr. Jyoti Mishra, this project has yielded some interesting results, lately published in the journal, PLOS Climate. It presents clear evidence that people directly exposed to weather-related calamities such as wildfires showed serious cognitive deficits, referring especially to their ability to process information and make decisions under conditions of visual interference. This report provides a quantitative analysis of how severe climate events could affect victim’s brain function and cognitive performance, offers critical data on how to restore communities as well as individuals to their pre-disaster state, and also points out a potential target for relevant neurocognitive therapy.
Using synchronized electroencephalography (EEG) brain recordings, the researchers demonstrated that those directly exposed to wildfires had stronger fronto-parietal response to stimuli. Because the fronto-parietal regions play a key role in various cognitive functions, stronger activity in the frontal cortices of the participants’ brains indicated that a compensatory mechanism was activated for cognitive control, meaning they were making more cognitive effort but still not performing well. These findings are similar to those detected in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Through EEG recordings and psychological testing on the interplay between trauma, anxiety and depression, this new study investigates how exposure to the 2018 California wildfires affected one’s cognitive ability 6-12 months after the event (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic). The participants underwent cognitive assessments consisting of selective attention, response inhibition, working memory, and non-emotional and emotional interference processing. The results were then compared with those gathered from people not exposed to wildfires.
While 725 Californians living through the 2018 Camp Fire were involved in a recent study and were found to exhibit symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression, the new study focuses on a subsample of 75 of these individuals: 27 directly exposed with some of their homes destroyed, 21 witnessing the wildfire but not directly impacted, and 27 non-exposed in a control group. 67% of the directly exposed and 14% of the indirectly exposed reported having experienced recent trauma, and none in the control group reported suffering from trauma.
The conclusion suggests that as the planet warms, an increasing number of people are at risk of facing extreme climate conditions. It is ever more imperative to explore different avenues to building climate resilience. Therefore, this study identifies a possible neuro-cognitive therapeutic target and offers helpful guidance on dealing with extreme weather events caused by climate change.
For more information about the research, see https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000125
