During concentration tasks, spontaneous attention shifts occurs towards self-centered matters. Little is known about the brain oscillatory activity underlying these mental phenomena. We recorded 128-channels electroencephalographic activity from 12 subjects performing a breath-counting task. Subjects were instructed to press a button whenever, based on their introspective experience, they realized their attention had drifted away from …
Topic Archives:
Investigation of attentional modulation in visual cortex during meditation
In several meditation traditions, practitioners engage in a form of sustained, spatially directed visual attention which can lead to an alteration in visual perception and awareness. To understand how this state arises, it is important to identify the neural circuitry that underlies the sustained spatial attention technique and to characterize its effects on the mechanisms …
Continue reading “Investigation of attentional modulation in visual cortex during meditation”
Mindfulness meditation for reduction of smoking craving: An fMRI investigation
For quitting smokers, there are myriad threats to abstinence. Mindfulness may either diminish perceived craving or increase tolerance of craving. Each of these scenarios may be reflected in the activation of different neural systems (the former by decreased activation of areas in the mesolimbic reward system associated with craving, and the latter by increased activation …
Continue reading “Mindfulness meditation for reduction of smoking craving: An fMRI investigation”
Session IV – The Role of Botho/Ubuntu in Modern Responses to Children’s and Women’s Rights Issues in Africa
How can the role and nature of Botho/Ubuntu in African societies be reconciled with the many incidences of violations of women and children’s rights we witness in modern society? How have African societies travelled from historical perspectives that highlighted definitions of integrated individual and collective humanity of all peoples to current violations that include far …
Session IV – The Biology of Care and Conflict in Groups
Relations between groups can be peaceful and mutually beneficial. Human groups co-exist, trade goods and care for one another. But relations between groups can also be competitive, and sometimes violent. Indeed, the human ability to care for “us” (our in-group) often seems to coincide with an ability to compete against “them” (out-groups). In our work …
Continue reading “Session IV – The Biology of Care and Conflict in Groups”
Session III – I am Because we are: Dynamic and Embodied Brain-to-brain Coupling as a new Framework for Social Interaction Between People
The Botho/Ubuntu view of “a person is a person through other persons” can illuminate both the best and the worst sides of humanity. Our research investigates how the brain responses of individuals are shaped by their interaction with other brains. We test how the brain responses of listeners, during verbal communication, are shaped to match …
Session III – The Impact of Trauma on the Brain: Structural Changes and Behavioral Outcome
Evolution has shaped our brains to be ready for the worst. Some parts of the brain, like the amygdala, are similar across species and activate rapid responses in life-threatening situations. Although these responses are essential for escaping an unexpected assault or burning building, these same systems can be activated by stressors whose solutions require a …
Evaluation and Implementation: Challenges and Opportunities for Human Flourishing
Day Five brings the Dialogue to its crescendo with a discussion about implementation and evaluation of learning in the classroom. The session begins with a presentation on the biological stress response in brains that produce stress hormones that influence memory and emotion regulation. Studies are cited to demonstrate how perceiving a situation to be threatening …
Continue reading “Evaluation and Implementation: Challenges and Opportunities for Human Flourishing”
Meta-Awareness and Attention Training in Education Research
On Day Three, having discussed topics relevant to education practitioners, the Dialogue brings recent scientific findings into conversation with Buddhist understandings of the mind. The first presentation in this session surveys the current scientific research on meta-awareness and attention. References are made to the influence of mindfulness and compassion training in a broad range of …
Continue reading “Meta-Awareness and Attention Training in Education Research”
Early Childhood Development and Social Emotional Learning
Day One begins with an overview of key insights derived from developmental, affective, and contemplative neuroscience on the processes of change, epigenetic influences on development, early brain development, and the nurturing of social and emotional skills over the first 20 years of life. This will provide scientific background for the Dialogue and raise fundamental questions …
Continue reading “Early Childhood Development and Social Emotional Learning”
