Mechanism · 30 records
Cognitive load
Environmental demands consume working cognitive resources
family: Cognition
ND-0001 · 2021 · Systematic review
How indoor environmental quality affects occupants' cognitive functions: A systematic review
Wang et al. Building and Environment
Poorer indoor conditions were often associated with poorer cognitive performance, but effects varied by factor, task and study design.
ND-0003 · 2023 · Systematic review and meta-analysis
Short-term exposure to indoor carbon dioxide and cognitive task performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors per journal record. Building and Environment
Short-term CO2 exposures below 5000 ppm were associated with cognitive effects in the pooled literature, with complex tasks appearing more sensitive.
ND-0005 · 2016 · Controlled crossover study
Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers
Allen et al. Environmental Health Perspectives
Cognitive scores were higher under lower-VOC and higher-ventilation conditions than under conventional office conditions.
ND-0008 · 2010 · Experimental study
The effects of air temperature on office workers' well-being, workload and productivity-evaluated with subjective ratings
Lan, Lian & Pan. Applied Ergonomics
Temperature altered subjective workload and well-being, with physiological measures including HRV and EEG used alongside performance outcomes.
ND-0011 · 2019 · Review
Effects of moderate thermal environments on cognitive performance: A multidisciplinary review
Authors per journal record. Applied Energy
The review supports nonlinear relationships between thermal conditions and cognitive performance rather than a simple monotonic effect.
ND-0017 · 2026 · Experimental study
Multimodal evidence of temperature and sex effects on sleep: sleep physiology, sleep quality, and next-day performance
Authors per journal record. Building and Environment
Warmer nights reduced sleep continuity and efficiency; autonomic and next-day outcomes differed across temperatures and by sex.
ND-0019 · 2011 · Experimental study
Open-plan office noise: Cognitive performance and restoration
Jahncke et al. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Higher office noise impaired word memory and increased tiredness; restorative content after exposure helped recover perceived energy.
ND-0021 · 2020 · Meta-analysis / synthesis
The relation between intelligibility of irrelevant speech and cognitive performance: a revised model
Haapakangas et al. Indoor Air
Performance declines became more likely as irrelevant speech became more intelligible; verbal short-term memory was especially sensitive.
ND-0022 · 2020 · Experimental study
Irrelevant speech effect in open-plan offices: A laboratory study
Kostallari et al. Applied Acoustics
Irrelevant speech degraded aspects of cognitive task performance in an office-like context.
ND-0025 · 2022 · Review
Classroom acoustics and cognition: review of the effects of noise and reverberation on primary school children
Mealings. Building Acoustics
Noise and reverberation can impair speech perception, memory, attention and learning, with children especially vulnerable.
ND-0026 · 2022 · Review
Acoustical parameters for learning in classroom: A review
Authors per journal record. Building and Environment
Classroom acoustic parameters are linked to speech intelligibility and learning-relevant outcomes.
ND-0033 · 2022 · Systematic review and meta-analysis
Effects of Indoor Plants on Human Functions: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analyses
Han, Ruan & Liao. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The review generally favored plant presence for objective human-function outcomes, with significant pooled effects for some outcomes but limited studies per meta-analysis.
ND-0043 · 2026 · Systematic mapping review
Toward Evidence-Based Neuroarchitecture: A Systematic Mapping and Framework for Immersive Spatial Cognition
Authors per journal record. Frontiers in Psychology
Maps the human empirical field and shows frequent reliance on questionnaires, behavior and EEG, with lower use of HRV, fMRI and fNIRS.
ND-0044 · 2021 · Systematic review
The Cognitive-Emotional Design and Study of Architectural Space: A Scoping Review of Neuroarchitecture and Its Precursor Approaches
Higuera-Trujillo, Llinares & Macagno. Sensors
Synthesizes neuroarchitecture with earlier environmental-psychology and psychophysiology approaches.
ND-0046 · 2023 · Systematic review
Designing for human wellbeing: The integration of neuroarchitecture in design - A systematic review
Authors per journal record. Ain Shams Engineering Journal
Summarizes applications of neuroarchitecture to wellbeing and design practice while highlighting methodological fragmentation.
ND-0054 · 2023 · Doctoral thesis
The processing of emotional body expressions within architectural experience: electroencephalography and eye-tracking studies in virtual reality
Author per University of Parma repository. University of Parma
Architectural experience modulated neural and visual processing of emotional body expressions in social scenarios.
ND-0056 · 2006 · Behavioral experiment
Humans Prefer Curved Visual Objects
Moshe Bar & Maital Neta. Psychological Science
Participants showed a preference for curved over sharp-contoured objects, consistent with a negative bias toward sharp transitions.
ND-0057 · 2007 · Behavioral experiment
The Influence of Ceiling Height: The Effect of Priming on the Type of Processing That People Use
Joan Meyers-Levy & Rui Zhu. Journal of Consumer Research
Higher ceilings were associated with freedom-related concepts and more relational or abstract processing; lower ceilings with more confined concepts and item-specific processing.
ND-0063 · 2020 · Human VR experiment
Deforming the metric of cognitive maps distorts memory
Authors per journal record. Nature Human Behaviour
Spatial memory and distance judgments were systematically distorted in deformed geometry, consistent with geometry-dependent cognitive maps.
ND-0067 · 2017 · Experimental eye-tracking study
Meaning-based guidance of attention in scenes as revealed by meaning maps
Henderson & Hayes. Nature Human Behaviour
Meaning maps predicted where people looked in scenes beyond low-level image salience.
ND-0068 · 2018 · Experimental eye-tracking study
Meaning guides attention in real-world scene images: Evidence from eye movements and meaning maps
Henderson & Hayes. Journal of Vision
Semantic meaning accounted for gaze behavior in scene viewing beyond image-salience models.
ND-0069 · 2019 · Review
Meaning and Attentional Guidance in Scenes: A Review of the Meaning Map Approach
Authors per journal record. Vision
Reviews evidence that scene meaning is a major determinant of visual attention.
ND-0073 · 2005 · Systematic review
The effect of office concepts on worker health and performance: a systematic review of the literature
de Croon et al. Ergonomics / Occupational literature
Strong evidence linked open workplaces with reduced privacy and job satisfaction; limited evidence linked openness and close workstation distance with higher cognitive workload.
ND-0075 · 2023 · Systematic review
Association between perceived indoor environmental characteristics and occupants' mental well-being, cognitive performance, productivity, satisfaction in workplaces
Authors per journal record. Building and Environment
Indoor climate, space/furniture/privacy and naturalness had the strongest evidence links to wellbeing, productivity and satisfaction; cognitive-performance evidence was less consistent.
ND-0084 · 2024 · Experimental study
Multisensory nature exposure in the workplace: Exploring the restorative benefits of smell experiences
Yildirim, Globa, Gocer & Brambilla. Building and Environment
A multisensory biophilic workplace condition improved stress, mood and cognitive outcomes relative to a non-biophilic condition; olfactory pleasantness contributed to restoration.
ND-0086 · 1996 · Review
Odor memory: Review and analysis
Herz & Engen. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
Olfactory memory has distinctive associative characteristics and can evoke strong memories even though it does not form a wholly separate memory system.
ND-0113 · 2012 · Review
From Objects to Landmarks: The Function of Visual Location Information in Spatial Navigation
Authors per journal record. Frontiers in Psychology
Landmarks support navigation through both identity and positional information, with effectiveness depending on route and decision context.
ND-0115 · 2019 · Experimental study
The role of meaning in attentional guidance during free viewing of real-world scenes
Peacock, Hayes & Henderson. Acta Psychologica
Meaning predicted attention allocation during free viewing, reinforcing semantic guidance beyond low-level salience.
ND-0116 · 2018 · Experimental study
Meaning Guides Attention during Real-World Scene Description
Authors per journal record. Scientific Reports
Meaning remained a strong predictor of gaze when participants actively described scenes.
ND-0134 · 2026 · Experimental EEG study
Neural signatures of auditory distraction and cognitive demand during working memory performance
Leitner & Wriessnegger. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 20, 1919376
Accuracy rose slightly under distraction alone and under time pressure alone, relative to baseline, and fell only when the two occurred together. Single demands appeared to be absorbed by compensatory effort; the combination was not.