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<v Speaker 1>Let's say good morning now to you see San Diego

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<v Speaker 1>Professor got Mishra. Good morning, doctor Mishra.

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<v Speaker 2>Good morning Amy, it's good to be here.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much for joining us this morning. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a new study out and it really caught my eye

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<v Speaker 1>because so many people in southern California have been affected

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<v Speaker 1>by the wildfires and Pacific Palisades and Altadena. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of people lost absolutely everything, and we had been

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<v Speaker 1>talking at the time and after that the effects of

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<v Speaker 1>the fires are going to be much more far reaching

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<v Speaker 1>than we can even imagine. And your research shows that

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<v Speaker 1>trauma suffered by wildfire victims is even affecting how.

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<v Speaker 2>We think that's correct.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, can you tell us a little bit about your

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<v Speaker 1>research and what you've found out.

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<v Speaker 2>Sure, we have been studying California's deadliest wildfire today, the

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<v Speaker 2>campfire from twenty eighteen that really wiped out the town

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<v Speaker 2>of Paradise for many years now, and we've looked at

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<v Speaker 2>mental health impacts that include symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety,

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<v Speaker 2>and depression, and we've shown that alongside these mood symptoms

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<v Speaker 2>that can also be cognitive impacts. In twenty twenty three,

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<v Speaker 2>we published a first study showing that individuals who are

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<v Speaker 2>exposed to the buyers are highly distractable. They're unable to

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<v Speaker 2>pay attention to the task at hand, and everything in

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<v Speaker 2>the environment seems really threatening and so everything is salient

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<v Speaker 2>and the individual feels highly distractable to that information. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>we also wanted to study that how all of this

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<v Speaker 2>cognitive impact then plays out on decision making. Every day,

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<v Speaker 2>we have to make important decisions and we have to

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<v Speaker 2>really track information to say what is the better decision

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<v Speaker 2>for us in the long term. I've given the examples

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<v Speaker 2>of say you want to take on a job right now,

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<v Speaker 2>which may be a small time job, versus say you

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<v Speaker 2>want to get some education and then get a bigger

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<v Speaker 2>job later on, and you have to make that important

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<v Speaker 2>decision for yourself what is better for you in the

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<v Speaker 2>long term. Similarly, people who are in disaster recovery, you

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<v Speaker 2>have to make many important decisions for rebuilding. Therefore, studying

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<v Speaker 2>decision making is very important, and we found that that

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<v Speaker 2>ability specifically impacted in people who are directly impacted by

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<v Speaker 2>the fires, directly exposed to the fires, and this impact, unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 2>can be long lasting, even when people had experienced the fires.

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<v Speaker 2>A year before this decision making impact was observed.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, doctor Mischer. So you're saying it's impacting decision making.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it that people can't make decisions, can't stick to decisions,

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<v Speaker 1>or are making bad decisions, or all of the above.

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<v Speaker 2>It's more that they're making bad decisions. They're making decisions

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<v Speaker 2>that are more impulsive that would be beneficial in the

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<v Speaker 2>short term but not beneficial in the long term.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, And so why is this happening. Is it because

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<v Speaker 1>there's too much up in the air and because they've

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<v Speaker 1>lost everything and they just don't know which direction to turn,

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<v Speaker 1>and so, like you said, they might make something more

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<v Speaker 1>impulsive to get a quick fix as opposed to thinking

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<v Speaker 1>it out for the long term.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, that why is part of the research. We've shown

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<v Speaker 2>that brain function can really be impacted after suffering a

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<v Speaker 2>catastrophic event. In fact, this has been called the fire

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<v Speaker 2>brain phenomena, where the brain really gets hyper aroused, hyper alert,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's almost as if it's highly active and looking

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<v Speaker 2>out for threats all the time, even though they're no

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<v Speaker 2>longer threats. After the fire, the brain stays in that

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<v Speaker 2>wired state and is unable to make the right decisions

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<v Speaker 2>even though it's trying to make that effort, and this

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<v Speaker 2>effect can be long lasting, and these brain impacts then

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<v Speaker 2>are making our cognitive abilities worse.

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<v Speaker 1>That's so interesting, and doctor Mischrad, this affects I mean

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<v Speaker 1>tens of thousands of people directly, and then thousands more

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<v Speaker 1>family members and friends who know people who've lost homes

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<v Speaker 1>and that kind of thing. So is there anything that

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<v Speaker 1>you can give advice, give some advice on, like how

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<v Speaker 1>do you choose to make better decisions?

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely? I think person only. I think this is a

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<v Speaker 2>time when we make decisions together with the family members.

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<v Speaker 2>I would really recommend people not make important decisions, especially

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<v Speaker 2>where they have to choose between options that are good

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<v Speaker 2>for now versus good for the long term. Those kinds

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<v Speaker 2>of decisions, critical decisions, rebuilding, recovery decisions, those kinds of

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<v Speaker 2>decisions they should make with friends and family together. Especially Also,

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<v Speaker 2>people who have not been impacted by the fires really

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<v Speaker 2>take the recommendations of those family members in mind. All community,

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<v Speaker 2>families and friends are here to help people who have

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<v Speaker 2>suffered from such unfortunate disaster impacts, and our study really

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<v Speaker 2>highlights that we should be out there helping out our

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<v Speaker 2>community members making important decisions.

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<v Speaker 1>It takes a village. Doctor Gioki mishra At, you see,

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<v Speaker 1>San Diego. Thank you so much for the information. As

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<v Speaker 1>I said, I came across this and I was like, wow,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, we just still don't know how much these

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<v Speaker 1>fires are going to affect people now and for years

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<v Speaker 1>to come. So thank you so much for the information.

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<v Speaker 1>We appreciate it. Is there somewhere we can find out

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<v Speaker 1>more information about it? Find the study.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, the paper was published in Nature Scientific Reports in

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<v Speaker 2>mid April and it's freely available. And yeah, thank you

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<v Speaker 2>for spreading the word about it.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, thanks again doctor Gioki mishra At, you see

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<v Speaker 1>San Diego.