Symposium
Conflict, Disasters, and Trauma- and Stressor-related Disorders
Climate change is increasingly recognized as a major determinant of mental health, yet its neurobiological mechanisms and lifespan-specific effects remain insufficiently integrated into mental health frameworks. This presentation will examine how climate-related exposures act on the brain to shape mental health risk and resilience across the lifespan.
Drawing on evidence from neuroscience, epidemiology, and environmental health, I will describe how acute climate stressors (e.g., heatwaves, wildfires, extreme weather events) and chronic exposures (e.g., air pollution, sustained heat, ecological degradation) influence key neurobiological systems implicated in mental health, including stress-response pathways, neuroinflammation, blood–brain barrier integrity, sleep–wake regulation, and cognitive and emotional processing. Periods of heightened vulnerability—such as prenatal development, childhood and adolescence, and later life—will be highlighted as windows when climate-related biological stress may have disproportionate and lasting effects on mental well-being.
The presentation will also explore how climate-related distress and eco-anxiety intersect with these biological processes, shaping emotional regulation, cognitive appraisal, and coping. Rather than viewing these responses solely as pathology, they will be framed as context-dependent signals that can either amplify risk or support resilience.
By integrating neurobiological, developmental, and environmental perspectives, this talk aims to advance understanding of how climate change affects brain and mental health, and to inform more adaptive, climate-aware approaches to prevention and care.