Tibetan and Himalayan Library - THL

Description:

This webcast presents some of the latest research findings on the effects of meditation on brain, body, and emotions based on several studies conducted by Richard Davidson, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Davidson begins by discussing different parts of the brain and pointing to certain areas which seem to be associated with "positive" emotions, especially the left prefrontal cortex. He reports : (1) Individuals who tend use more positive adjectives have greater activity in the left prefrontal cortex. (2) Meditation accentuates activity in the prefrontal cortex. (3) An experimental group who engaged in mindfulness meditation showed not only greater increase in activity of the left prefrontal cortex, but also a greater increase antibody production in response to an influenza vaccine compared to a control group. (In other words, changes in left prefrontal activity shows correlation to changes in antibody production. As Davidson says, this essentially means that members of the experimental group would have a less severe flu than members of the control group) (4) Advanced Tibetan meditators show a drastic change in brain activity in certain tasks compared to average subjects. He suggests the research challenges past notions that the brain is not malleable.

The next section of this webcast consists of an explanation of Buddhist meditation and philosophy from Robert Thurman, a professor of Buddhist studies at Columbia University. The webcast concludes with a question and answer session.

Absent in the webcast is the presentation by Daniel Goleman. It is important to note that Goleman is introduced at the very beginning of the webcast, but the video cuts directly to Davidon's talk. This can make it easy to confuse who the speaker is. This event was hosted by the Center for the Study of Science and Religion (CSSR) at Columbia University. (Zach Rowinski 2004-05-11)

Means of availability: Requires RealPlayer 8.0 or later.

Associated Information:

Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., et al. (2003). "Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation." Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 564-570.