iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Virtual nature may offer benefits, but we need a nuanced discussion of its potential effects and practical relevance. Thanks to @jonasnitschke.bsky.social , @clauslamm.bsky.social @schenkl.bsky.social Mat White, the reviewers/editors at JEVP and @fwf-at.bsky.social for making this possible (4/4)

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Although three-sided testing could not rule out small (and sometimes moderate) effects, our findings invite critical reflection on the potency of brief virtual nature exposure for immediate stress responses and suggest that participants may overestimate nature’s helpfulness in hindsight (3/4)

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

…none of the immediate psychological (self-reported stress), autonomic (HR, HRV) or hormonal (salivary cortisol) stress measures showed a benefit of virtual nature. Appraisal and rumination ratings directly linked to the stressor also showed no favorable effects of nature (2/4)

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

We ran a registered randomized controlled study with 164 participants to test whether virtual nature before or after an acute stress task affects stress reactivity and subsequent recovery. Participants retrospectively said that nature helped them prepare for and recover from the stressor BUT… (1/4)

sciencedirect.com

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

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Isabella Wagner 🧠🦠 @isabellacwagner.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Apply now: 1 Postdoc + 1 PhD position, Anderson-Wagner group @univie.ac.at Focus: gut microbial effects on hippocampus & memory 🧠🦠 #PostdocJobs #Microbiome #AcademicJobs #PhDposition Postdoc Ad: careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e... > Psychology PhD Ad: careers.univie.ac.at/en/praedoc/p... > CoBeNe

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Our preregistered systematic review & meta-analysis published in Nature Mental Health shows that nature exposure is linked to small-to-moderate reductions in self-reported pain (SMD = .53; N = 4,439). But high heterogeneity and moderate-to-high risk of bias call for a cautious interpretation (1/5)

nature.com

Nature exposure reduces self-reported pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis - Nature Mental Health

The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 62 studies, including more than 4,400 participants across 21 countries, to investigate the effects of nature exposure on self-reported pa...

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Nature exposure may be a promising adjunct non-pharmacological pain treatment strategy, but more work is needed. Big thanks to @jonasnitschke.bsky.social, @clauslamm.bsky.social, Mat White, the reviewers/editors at Nature Mental Health, and @fwf-at.bsky.social for making this project possible (5/5)

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Sensitivity analyses suggest the effect is robust and exceeds a minimally important difference (~1 point on a 0-10 scale). However, more rigorous studies are needed to clarify generalizability, uncover underlying mechanisms, and identify if the effect translates from acute to chronic pain (4/5)

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Overall, nature exposure reduced pain, but effects varied widely. Two moderators stood out: comparator quality (matched comparators showed smaller effects) and immersiveness (multisensory nature tended to produce stronger effects). Most other moderators were not significant (3/5)

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Across 62 studies (96 effects) from 21 countries, mostly focusing on acute pain, we found a wide variation in nature exposures, from simple unimodal stimuli to immersive VR (few in situ). Comparator conditions also varied, predominantly using no-stimulation or treatment-as-usual controls (2/5)

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

nature.com

Nature exposure reduces self-reported pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis - Nature Mental Health

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Boryana Todorova @todorova.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

I’m thrilled to share that our paper “Effort and time costs influence motivational asymmetries in self-benefitting vs. pro-environmental decisions” is now published in Communications Psychology! 🌿 OA link: www.nature.com/articles/s44... 1/6

nature.com

Effort and time costs influence motivational asymmetries in self-benefitting vs pro-environmental decisions - Communications Psychology

People are less willing to incur time and effort costs for the environment than for themselves, with computational modeling revealing nonlinear discounting of time and effort linked to support for cos...

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Hey Wouter, thanks for the initiative. I‘d like to be added to this list if there is still space. Thanks ☺️

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Excited to share that our recent study on nature exposure 🌲 and its impact on subjective and neural pain processing 🧠⚡ (rdcu.be/evMrv) was featured on Austrian national television (ORF). From minute 11 to 15 you can catch me and @clauslamm.bsky.social discussing the study design and key findings.

on.orf.at

G'sunder Sommer in Österreich: Die Kraft der Natur

Wenn die Pflanzen in den Alpen blühen und die Wälder rauschen, wird Österreichs Natur zur besten Medizin. Wer Körper, Geist und Natur in Einklang bringen will, ist hier goldrichtig – besonders im Somm...

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Boryana Todorova @todorova.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

🌍 So excited to share our new paper “Machine learning identified key individual and nation-level factors predicting climate-relevant beliefs and behaviors”, just out in npj Climate Action! 🔗 Fully Open Access: rdcu.be/ele9s 1/

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SCAN Unit @scanunit.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

🚨 Come work with us! 3-year fully funded PhD position in Social and Cognitive Neuroscience @univie.ac.at @clauslamm.bsky.social to join our project investigating prosocial behavior under uncertainty. More info: shorturl.at/1fnb2 Please share widely 🔁

shorturl.at

3y_PhDposition_univie_ScanUnit.pdf

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

My talented colleague and friend @todorova.bsky.social just published a paper I had the pleasure of contributing to. We explore how climate action and brain health are deeply linked. Climate action can benefit our brains, and our brains shape how we act. Caring for the planet = caring for ourselves.

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

There is also some evidence suggesting nature may help with chronic pain as well: 10.1002/ejp.4727, 10.1016/j.pmn.2023.06.014, 10.3389/fbuil.2019.00142. I'm curious to see how our findings translate to chronic pain and am glad to hear nature has been helpful for you in pain management so far.

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Big thanks to @clauslamm.bsky.social, Mat White, Lukas Lengersdorff, @lei-zhang.bsky.social, Alex Smalley and Simone Kühn, the reviewers/editors @naturecomms.bsky.social and @fwf-at.bsky.social for making this project possible. Follow me for more research on how nature impacts aversive experiences.

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Nature isn’t just relaxing – it can actively reduce pain, both on a subjective and a neural level. Thus, nature-based interventions may offer a promising way to complement pain management strategies, even when using virtual instead of real-world nature. 5/6

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

The analgesic effect wasn’t just due to pitting nature against aversive or unmatched comparators. Consistent with our neural findings, which point to attention-based mechanisms rather than belief-driven effects, nature may effectively shift attention away from pain and towards our surroundings. 4/6

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

In line with past research (upcoming meta-analysis soon), nature was linked to reduced self-reported pain. Addressing limitations of prior studies, we compared virtual nature to a matched urban and an additional indoor scene – both associated with higher subjective and neural pain responses. 3/6

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Using fMRI, we show that watching virtual nature reduced activation in a highly sensitive neural pain marker (NPS) and several key brain regions (thalamus, S2, pINS). Contrary to typical placebo research findings, nature acted directly on sensory, and not emotional/motivational, aspects of pain. 2/6

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Can nature relieve pain 🌳🧠⚡️? Our latest preregistered neuroimaging study, now out in Nature Communications, suggests it can. We find that virtual nature exposure reduces both subjective and neural pain responses, even when compared to matched control environments. A 🧵 1/6 doi.org/10.1038/s414...

doi.org

Nature exposure induces analgesic effects by acting on nociception-related neural processing - Nature Communications

Virtual nature exposure reduces self-reported pain and is associated with decreased brain responses linked to somatosensory and nociceptive processing, providing new insights into the underlying mecha...

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

If possible, I would be happy to be included in the starter pack. I have a focus on environmental neuroscience and research the influence of nature on the processing of aversive experiences. I would be happy to become part of the community 😃

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SCAN Unit @scanunit.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

We are a bit late for this, but happy new year from the SCAN unit! 🎈 We are thankful for the productive and joyful times together and looking forward to another year of exciting research! 🤩 Here is our 2024 in review 👇

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Max Steininger @maxsteininger.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Somehow the link doesn’t work. It says the session has expired 🧐

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Magdalena Boch 🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺🇦🇹 @magdalenaboch.bsky.social · 08/10/2023

yesterday, @clauslamm.bsky.social and I explained our research on Austrian kids TV 🧠🐕as you can see in the pics, we had a lot of fun doing it but my favourite moment was getting a picture of my niece watching the show! ♥️ #1: shorturl.at/isxPY #2: shorturl.at/gsN89 #neuroscience #outreach #dogfMRI

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