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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Communications Biology

Vegetation structure shapes behavioral, neuroimmune and gut microbial recovery after chronic stress in mice

  • Yixin Zhang1
  • Kejin Ma1
  • Tianxu Hu1
  • Yongcan Ma1
  • Hetao Zhao1
  • Xin Peng2
  • Gaosheng Yin3
  • Huijia Zhang2
  • Feng Lin1
  • Yinan Pan1
  • Tianci Zhang1
  • Haoer Ban1
3 more authors
  • Yufei Zhu1
  • Tian Gao1
  • Ling Qiu1
  1. 1College of Landscape Architecture and Arts, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi China
  2. 2School of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
  3. 3Yunnan Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, School of Rehabilitation, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
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Abstract

Chronic stress impairs behavior, neuroimmune regulation and gut microbial ecology, but whether natural-environment structure shapes recovery remains unclear. Here, we tested whether landscape design, beyond greenness alone, promotes recovery in chronically stressed male mice. During a 28-day recovery phase, mice were exposed to five parameterized vegetated landscapes differing in openness, canopy density and visual complexity, a matched urban-gray setting, or standard housing. Vegetated exposure improved anxiety-like behavior, behavioral despair and anhedonia, whereas the gray setting showed little benefit. Recovery was design-dependent: multistrata, color-rich landscapes produced the fastest and most sustained behavioral improvement, while open lawn-dominant layouts showed weaker, partly transient effects. These gains were accompanied by lower interleukin-1β and interleukin-6, normalized hippocampal Iba-1, preserved brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and restored gut microbial diversity. Predicted microbial functions linked butyrate-related pathways with neuroimmune-behavioral indices. These findings support vegetation structure as a tunable environmental variable for coordinated recovery after chronic stress.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{zhang2026vegetation,
  title = {{Vegetation structure shapes behavioral, neuroimmune and gut microbial recovery after chronic stress in mice}},
  author = {Yixin Zhang and Kejin Ma and Tianxu Hu and Yongcan Ma and Hetao Zhao and Xin Peng and Gaosheng Yin and Huijia Zhang and Feng Lin and Yinan Pan and Tianci Zhang and Haoer Ban and Yufei Zhu and Tian Gao and Ling Qiu},
  journal = {Communications Biology},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s42003-026-10628-8},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10628-8},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Vegetation structure shapes behavioral, neuroimmune and gut microbial recovery after chronic stress in mice
AU  - Yixin Zhang
AU  - Kejin Ma
AU  - Tianxu Hu
AU  - Yongcan Ma
AU  - Hetao Zhao
AU  - Xin Peng
AU  - Gaosheng Yin
AU  - Huijia Zhang
AU  - Feng Lin
AU  - Yinan Pan
AU  - Tianci Zhang
AU  - Haoer Ban
AU  - Yufei Zhu
AU  - Tian Gao
AU  - Ling Qiu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/14
JO  - Communications Biology
DO  - 10.1038/s42003-026-10628-8
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10628-8
AB  - Chronic stress impairs behavior, neuroimmune regulation and gut microbial ecology, but whether natural-environment structure shapes recovery remains unclear. Here, we tested whether landscape design, beyond greenness alone, promotes recovery in chronically stressed male mice. During a 28-day recovery phase, mice were exposed to five parameterized vegetated landscapes differing in openness, canopy density and visual complexity, a matched urban-gray setting, or standard housing. Vegetated exposure improved anxiety-like behavior, behavioral despair and anhedonia, whereas the gray setting showed little benefit. Recovery was design-dependent: multistrata, color-rich landscapes produced the fastest and most sustained behavioral improvement, while open lawn-dominant layouts showed weaker, partly transient effects. These gains were accompanied by lower interleukin-1β and interleukin-6, normalized hippocampal Iba-1, preserved brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and restored gut microbial diversity. Predicted microbial functions linked butyrate-related pathways with neuroimmune-behavioral indices. These findings support vegetation structure as a tunable environmental variable for coordinated recovery after chronic stress.
SN  - 2399-3642
ER  -