Contemplative Neuroscience can
Change your mind. Waisman Center University of Wisconsin–Madison 1500 Highland Avenue Madison, WI 53705-2280 investigatinghealthyminds.org
Waisman Center University of Wisconsin–Madison
“All humans have an innate desire to overcome suffering and find happiness. Training the mind to think differently is one important way to accomplish this.” His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Cultivating Awareness In 1992, the Dalai Lama challenged Richard Davidson, a pioneer in affective neuroscience, to bring the rigorous techniques used to study negative qualities of mind to bear on the positive qualities of healthy minds. The resulting research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has led to the development of contemplative neuroscience, a hybrid discipline that uses science to study the impact of contemplative practices. Building on a firm scientific foundation, the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds was established in 2008 in the University’s Waisman Center to continue this groundbreaking work. Scientists, scholars and outreach staff are dedicated to understanding the biology of a healthy brain and discovering how meditation, as well as love, compassion and forgiveness, can transform it. By developing educational materials and interventions based on scientific discovery, the Center will relieve suffering and promote well-being for children, including those with developmental and learning disorders, adults with physical and psychological disorders, those who have been incarcerated, and anyone seeking a mindful connection to inner silence and the outer world. “In an environment where we strive to embody attributes we wish to nourish, the Center provides fertile ground for the investigation of healthy qualities of mind. The best young scientists from throughout the country and the world are attracted to the Center because of the work we do and the environment we have collectively created.” Richard Davidson, director, Center for Investigating Healthy Minds
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and Richard Davidson, by Jeff Miller, UW-Madison, University Communications.
Richard Davidson and the evolution of contemplative neuroscience >>> 1980s: Lays the foundation to establish the field of affective neuroscience >>> 1992: Meets the Dalai Lama; agrees to bring the rigor of science to the study of positive attributes >>> 1990s: Begins investigating the minds of
“This is allowing yourself a quiet time inside. So many children don’t have that, so they never notice the wonderful things in their lives.” Joan Erschler, program director, Waisman Early Childhood Program, UW-Madison
Engaging Communities In a stressed-out, 24/7 world, human beings have begun to hunger for inner peace and ways to live gently and wisely on the planet. Through research and outreach, the Center’s goal is to develop interventions that promote positive attributes in the world and, in turn, offer these strategies to the public. In schools, we will collaborate with educators to develop interventions that encompass and embrace the unique attributes of every child: • strengthening social skills, such as cooperation, kindness and altruism, and • increasing the ability to focus while learning. “Mindfulness has huge possibilities for working with children,” Waisman Early Childhood Program Director Joan Erschler said. “This is a way to take care of yourself, as a child or adult, in a frenzied world.” In medical settings, we will improve health and quality of life: • for individuals who face medical illnesses, such as asthma, cardiovascular disease and obesity, that are exacerbated by psycho-social stress, and • for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or who fall within the spectrum of autism. The Center will continue to share interventions that cultivate healthy qualities of mind with the clinical community, K-12 educators and scientists. In prisons, we plan to offer meditation-based interventions to inmates as part of a pre-release curriculum: • restoring their coping skills, and • leading to fewer repeat offenders. “When the individual thrives, the community thrives. When the community suffers, the individual suffers. This is a fundamental connection. In our inherent capacity for transformation, we realize the full potential of our lives and the world.” Lisa Flook, assistant scientist, Center for Investigating Healthy Minds
The Center plans to work with local school districts to bring meditation and other contemplative practices into grade schools, when children’s minds are especially plastic and interventions may cultivate compassion and resilience and guard against the development of psychopathology. Photo by Cheri Sanders.
sed happiness, a stronger immune system >>> 2004: Publishes the first article on brain changes in Buddhist monks, long-term meditators >>> 2005: Links brain activity to the immune system in asthma patients >>> 2005: Shows meditation dramatically increases brain activity in the area responsible
“The world benefits from this scientific inquiry that allows scientists to develop tools that will teach people how to be more loving, forgiving and compassionate.” Wayne Ramsey, program officer, The Fetzer Institute
Changing the World Compassion. Love. Forgiveness. These qualities are critical for the survival of the human race and the environment. “Imagine how different things might be if we accepted the notion that the regular practice of mental exercises to strengthen compassion is something to incorporate into everyday life,” Richard Davidson asks. The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds explores the fundamental questions of who we are as human beings. How we learn, love and cultivate and maintain relationships. The Center looks to the contemplative traditions because they allow individuals to experience their connection to each other and the environment, fostering high levels of psychological well-being and ecological awareness. Center researchers and staff will collaborate with children, educators, patients with physical and mental disorders, inmates, monks and many others to discover key qualities of a healthy mind and how to cultivate those qualities at every stage of life. The Center was founded to develop methods of mental training for a wider audience. This work has the potential to touch every living person by • decreasing human suffering, • encouraging environmental awareness, and • promoting individual and community well-being. “Our planet and the societies that inhabit it are in more dire need of restoration and repair than at any previous time in history. The greed and inattention that contributed to our current predicament also are sowing seeds of possibility by exposing the need for something deeper to fulfill the human yearning for genuine happiness. In this environment, the Center’s work is not a luxury. Our survival may depend upon the personal transformation that is at the root of all that we do.” Richard Davidson, director, Center for Investigating Healthy Minds
for positive emotions in Buddhist monks >>> 2006: Links brain structure to social impairment in young men with autism >>> 2006: Named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World >>> 2007: Links meditation to the brain’s ability to recognize rapidly shifting stimuli >>>
“Establishing a Center to deeply question what a healthy mind might be, using multiple epistemologies, is a profound human endeavor and very, very timely.” Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Transforming Minds The Center’s work is rooted in once seemingly impossible notions: • Neuroplasticity, the discovery that the brain can change throughout life • Contemplative and affective neuroscience, disciplines which unlock the potential for science to measure the effects of meditation and emotion in the brain • Mindful intention, the application of the knowledge that practicing mental activities can physically transform our brains Dedicated, world-class researchers at the UW-Madison, supported by the Waisman Center and Brain Imaging Laboratory, use all forms of imaging and genetic and molecular techniques to understand the brain. Working at a top research university and dedicated to collaboration across disciplines, the team merges humanities and science to translate discoveries into action. The scientists have learned that cultivating positive qualities, such as compassion, strengthens biological circuits in the brain that underlie those attributes. They are scientifically showing for the first time, that we have the potential to transform our minds. The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds is dedicated to • understanding how healthy qualities of mind develop throughout life, • measuring the neurological mechanisms that support these qualities, • determining how these qualities relate to mental and physical health, • establishing practices to develop these qualities in children and adults, and • improving the quality of life for individuals and communities. “Cultivating mindfulness, compassion and kindness could be, fundamentally, the same as acquiring other skills, such as learning to play chess or tennis, which can induce neurological changes in the brain.” Antoine Lutz, associate scientist, Waisman Lab for Brain Imaging & Behavior
Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, top, is fitted with a 128-channel geodesic sensor net in preparation for an electroencephalography at the UW-Madison Waisman Center to monitor brain waves during various forms of meditation. Ricard participates in a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging test, bottom, to monitor his brain activity and the impact of meditation on pain regulation. Photos by Jeff Miller, UW-Madison, University Communications.
long-term meditators and sets the stage for contemplative neuroscience >>> 2000: Receives the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association >>> 2003: Is the first to link meditation to increased brain activity associated with decreased anxiety, increa
Change your mind. Change the world. investigatinghealthyminds.org
Widening the Circle A rich history: Richard Davidson and a diverse team of scientists have built upon their groundbreaking research to reveal how transforming the mind can change the body and brain. The Center will be the first translational research facility to include a brain imaging laboratory and meditation space under one roof. An urgent need: As the earth faces environmental threats, as human beings hunger for connection and happiness, the Center will develop and offer novel forms of mental training to a wider segment of our culture. In partnering with the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, you will be investing in pioneering research and visionary outreach. Your gift will allow the Center to • build a unique facility to integrate science and the humanities, • further explore how healthy qualities of mind affect the brain, • create mindfulness interventions for children and educators, and • attract and retain top faculty, researchers, outreach staff and graduate students to ensure the work continues. To learn more about gift opportunities, please contact the Center’s Office of Development and Outreach at 608-263-2743 or giving@investigatinghealthyminds.org. Visit www.investigatinghealthyminds.org to read more about the Center. You also may make a gift on this site by clicking on the “Generosity” tab in the main menu. “Humanity critically needs world-class scientists to tackle the essential challenges of the human condition. The Center’s extraordinary mix of leading edge science and compassionate motivation can lead to a steady stream of practical insights that will help us all not just survive, but thrive.” Daniel Goleman, author, “Emotional Intelligence,” “Ecological Intelligence”
2008: Establishes the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds >>> 2009: Dalai Lama offers to speak at the Center’s grand opening in 2010 >>>
Contemplative Neuroscience can
Change your mind. Waisman Center University of Wisconsin–Madison 1500 Highland Avenue Madison, WI 53705-2280 investigatinghealthyminds.org
Waisman Center University of Wisconsin–Madison