http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3047291.stm
BBC NEWS | Health | Buddhists 'really are happier'
Last Updated: Wednesday, 21 May, 2003, 21:50 GMT 22:50
Buddhists 'really are happier'
Buddhism may be good for your mental health. Scientists say they
have evidence to show that Buddhists really are happier and calmer than
other people.
Tests carried out in the United States reveal that areas of their brain
associated with good mood and positive feelings are more active.
The findings come as another study suggests that Buddhist meditation can
help to calm people.
Researchers at University of California San Francisco Medical Centre have
found the practise can tame the amygdala, an area of the brain which is the
hub of fear memory.
They found that experienced Buddhists, who meditate regularly, were less
likely to be shocked, flustered, surprised or as angry compared to other
people.
Paul Ekman, who carried out the study, said: "The most reasonable hypothesis
is that there is something about conscientious Buddhist practice that
results in the kind of happiness we all seek."
Brain activity
In a separate study, scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison
used new scanning techniques to examine brain activity in a group of
Buddhists.
Their tests revealed activity in the left prefrontal lobes of experienced
Buddhist practitioners.
This area is linked to positive emotions, self-control and temperament.
Their tests showed this area of the Buddhists' brains are constantly lit up
and not just when they are meditating.
This, the scientists said, suggests they are more likely to experience
positive emotions and be in good mood.
"We can now hypothesise with some confidence that those apparently happy,
calm Buddhist souls one regularly comes across in places such as Dharamsala,
India, really are happy," said Professor Owen Flanagan, of Duke University
in North Carolina.
Dharamsala is the home base of exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama.
The studies are published in New Scientist magazine.
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