[Buddha-l] buddhism and brain studies

[Katherine Masis]

Hi, Gary
 
I think you’re referring to the famous Kasamatsu-Hirai study on habituation to noise:
 
“The Kasamatsu-Hirai study also revealed significant differences between four Zen masters and four control subjects in their response to repetitive click stimuli. Like the Zen masters, the controls exhibited a blocking of alpha when a click sound first occurred, but they gradually became habituated to such stimuli so that their brain-wave activity no longer responded when a click was made. The Zen masters, however, did not become habituated, but continued to exhibit blocking as long as the stimuli continued. This finding indicates that Zen practice promotes a serene, alert awareness that is consistently responsive to both external and internal stimuli (Kasamatsu et al., 1957; Hirai, 1960; and Kasamatsu and Hirai, 1963).”
 
By Michael Murphy as quoted in http://www.noetic.org/research/medbiblio/ch1.htm
 
If I remember correctly, there was a discussion on this list several months ago about some recent studies being done by Alan Wallace at Santa Barbara, California.  Nevertheless, these old studies from the 1950’s and 1960’s are true classics in the psychology-and-meditation literature.
 
Katherine Masis