[Buddha-l] Volume 54 Issue 52

[S. A. Feite]

On Aug 21, 2009, at 7:55 AM, Ngawang Dorje wrote:

> Buddhist are really happier
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3047291.stm
>
>
> Referring to the new scanning methods used in University of  
> Wisconsin, it says:
>
> "Their tests showed this area of the Buddhists' brains are  
> constantly lit up and not just when they are meditating. "
>
> Also:
>
> "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. "
>
> I am unable to locate any paper published by Davidson or Ekman on  
> the above..
> Can anyone help me?
>


The article is 6 years old, so they are probably talking about the  
Cultivating Emotional Balance research by Ekman and research by  
Richardson on laterality. The Univ. of Wisconsin research could  
perhaps be referring to the initial research on Buddhist nondual  
compassion meditation and perhaps the findings on gamma coherence. If  
you've seen the documentary, _Monks, In the Lab_ (it's online),  
you'll see that actual research taking place. Unfortunately unless  
you're familiar with some of the techniques being used it may not be  
real clear what you're seeing. But there are interviews with both  
Ekman and Richardson.