Edgar, I'm in the process of reading your paper on time. It written with meticulous care to follow the scientific process. Why then would you be drawn into this kind of psuedo-science?
For just one example, the first fatal flaw in this experiment is the assumption that Matthieu Ricard is representative of Buddhis monks, and that Buddhist monks as a group have 'developed a greater capacity for forgiveness and compassion'. I know that's the popular consensus, certainly on this forum, and it's even my belief - BUT, that doesn't make it a valid assumption on which to base a scientific experiement. Or...were you forwarding this to us to share it as a joke? ...Bill! --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, Edgar Owen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Can love change your mind? New project explores neuroscience of > 'positive qualities' > > > >  > > Wearing a 128-channel geodesic sensor net, Buddhist monk Matthieu > Ricard sits in a soundproof room and talks with Richard Davidson > (right) before participating in an electroencephalography (EEG) test > at the EEG facility at the Waisman Center in June. Davidson, director > of the Waisman Lab for Brain Imaging and Behavior, recently received > a grant to create a new research initiative on the neuroscience of > compassion, love and forgiveness, where he will investigate how those > virtues work in the human mind. Photo: Jeff Miller > > What is happening in the minds of people who have developed a greater > capacity for forgiveness and compassion? Can a quality like love â" > whether it's shown toward a family member or a friend â" be > neurologically measured in the brain? > > A new research project at UWâ"Madison offers the opportunity to apply > hard science to these seemingly ethereal questions. UWâ"Madison > psychology professor Richard Davidson, director of the Waisman > Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, has received a $2.5 > million grant from the Michigan-based Fetzer Institute to create a > new research initiative on the neuroscience of compassion, love and > forgiveness, investigating how these virtues manifest themselves in > the human mind and whether we have the ability to nurture and expand > them through practice. > > Davidson already has the foundation for probing these questions > through his decade-long work exploring brain function and meditation. > Davidson works with a population of Tibetan monks and lay > practitioners who have incorporated meditation practices into their > daily lives, looking into how that practice impacts their mental and > physical health. > > Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques, > Davidson has been able to demonstrate that significant positive > changes in brain behavior can be activated through meditation and > other "contemplative practices." The research has been very > influential in providing evidence of "neuroplasticity," the idea that > brain function changes throughout life in response to experience and > purposeful training. > > "This is totally uncharted territory," says Davidson of the Fetzer > project. "This grant is really meant to launch a new field where the > wisdom of the contemplative traditions can intersect with hard- nosed > mainstream science to understand how the brain can be transformed, > through certain exercises, to strengthen these kinds of positive > qualities." > > Davidson's ultimate goal is build a deep base of scientific evidence > not only of the neurological machinery that supports these qualities, > but of specific practices that can have an impact on mental health > and point the way to new techniques to cultivate these virtues in > children and adults, including those with disabilities. > > "Most commentators agree that if the world contained more people who > more often displayed qualities such as love, forgiveness, compassion > and related characteristics, some of the myriad problems that plague > modern society would be less severe," Davidson says. > > Davidson's research team has already done studies on compassion, in > which they examined how specific mental training exercises were able > to elicit changes in a brain region called the insula, an area that > is directly tied to interactions between the mind and body. When > subjects are asked to respond to stimuli that depicts human > suffering, for example, there are often parallel physical reactions > in the body that can be measured. Those reactions may serve as > motivators for the propensity to help others, Davidson says. > > One big challenge will be how to define, isolate and measure what > responses in the brain are directly connected with a construct such > as love or forgiveness. Davidson says a great deal of their success > will depend on whether specific studies can be designed to really > hone in on a particular virtue. Adding to the challenge is the fact > that many of these virtues may be related neurologically. > > The question of measuring love may be especially challenging, but > Davidson says there are some intriguing options. For example, when > people talk about immediate family members â" parents, children, > spouses â" it's easy to identify qualities that most people would > agree constitute love, such as a selflessness and a sense one "would > do anything" for that person. But it's much harder to explain beyond > immediate family. > > "It may well be that for most people, the experience of love is > something that is pretty restricted to that close circle of people," > he says. "If that's true, it actually allows us to see how a person's > response to people inside that sphere are different from those > outside the sphere." > > As part of the Fetzer initiative, Davidson has named two graduate > students who are working in the general area of contemplative > neuroscience as Fetzer Fellows. The first two fellowships are held by > Daniel Levinson, a first-year graduate student who completed his > undergraduate studies at Stanford University, and third-year student > Helen Weng, who completed her undergraduate work at Columbia University. > > Levinson says he will study the ways in which meditation influences > emotion and attention, and understand the brain processes that allow > people to excel at those behaviors. Those same brain processes might > inform work on love, compassion and forgiveness. > > "It is a rare gift to be funded to do what you care about most > deeply," Levinson says. > > Davidson adds that the Fetzer Institute work will be part of a larger > center in development called the Center for Creating a Healthy Mind, > which will open in about a year in newly renovated space at the > Waisman Center. > > The Fetzer Institute, based in Kalamazoo, Mich., is devoted to > fostering awareness of the power of love and forgiveness in the > emerging global community. > > "The Fetzer Institute is pleased to join professor Davidson and his > colleagues at the University of Wisconsin in this exciting new > program," says Tom Beech, Fetzer president and CEO. "It will bring > the powerful methods of neuroscience to bear on one of the most > pressing and fundamental issues that humanity faces today â" namely, > our capacity to love and forgive. We expect that this work will help > us understand the fundamental nature of compassion and how to > cultivate it in our daily lives." > > Source: University of Wisconsin > http://www.physorg.com/news140272241.html > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
