We all know the standard features that people look for in a home: location, square footage, number of bedrooms, quality of construction. But if an influential group of scientists is right, we’ll soon be adding another category to the list: emotionally intelligent design.

Although it sounds far-fetched, there is a growing body of research documenting the effects that factors such as room layout, light levels and ceiling height have on brain functions that help regulate our health and our moods. The next hot trend in interior design might be neuroscience.