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Contemplative neuroscience is an emerging multidisciplinary field, more or less overlapping with the study of neural mechanisms of mindfulness meditation. Contemplative neuroscience looks into neurological, physiological, epigenetic, behavioral, social and cognitive manifestations or consequences of a state of mind which is at the same time meditative/mindful and compassionate/calm and selfless/altruistic although bodily-aware. Thus researchers aspire to encompass all significant traits of the Buddhist term "mindfulness", somehow distancing themselves from different modern interpretations of this term.
Contents
History
1970x-1980x : In Arthur Deikman experiments on meditation, subjects where observing a blue vase, trying not to think or feel their body etc. Also in this early age, Allan Wallace, Richard Davidson, Daniel Goleman, started their work in this field. Without any neuroimaging technique available, researchers observed and measured physiological parameters such as oxygen consumption, skin resistance, EEG spectra, etc., and also assessed emotions through standard questionnaires. And they investigated Buddhist and Zen descriptions of contemplatives or meditative states of mind. Early researches started to discriminate altered states of mind and long-term changes in the traits of character. Different fields converged on the subject: psychology (including transpersonal psychology and the study of psychedelics), neurology (and medicine at large). In particular Jon Kabat-Zinn investigated stress and chronic pain reduction.
In Soviet Union Oleg Bachtiarov was commissioned by the military to elaborate a way to reduce pilot errors in highly stressed combat situation, leading later to his training techniques of "mindful wide attention span".
2000x : a new era in the contemplative neuroscience arose due to the development of new investigative instrumentation, like fMRI and new ways of neurostimulation. This methodology has been utilised in scientific research carried out under laboratory conditions in several programs launched by the Mind and Life Institute (MLI), founded in 1987 by the 14th Dalai Lama, Adam Engle (an American social entrepreneur) and the late Chilean neuroscientist, Francisco J. Varela.
One such program was launched at Mind and Life Institute’s first public dialogue, held at MIT in 2003, entitled ‘Investigating the Mind’. Participants included the 14th Dalai Lama, Nobel Laureate scientist Daniel Khaneman and Eric Lander, Director of the MIT Centre for Genomic Research. This conference, attended by 1,200 scientists and contemplatives, marked the public birth of contemplative neuroscience in the USA.
In 2004, MLI launched its Summer Research [MLSRI] Institute at the Garrison Institute which for the first time presented a curriculum on Contemplative Neuroscience to graduate students, post docs, and science faculty. MLI also launched the Francisco J. Varela Research Awards, which provided pilot study funding to qualified applications on a competitive basis. These two programs have been held yearly since 2004.
In 2005, MLI held its second public dialogue in Washington DC: The Science and Clinical Applications of Meditation, co-sponsored by Johns Hopkins Medical University and the Georgetown Medical Center.
In April 2012 MLI completed its strategy to establish the new fields of Contemplative Sciences by initiating the International Symposia on Contemplative Studies in Denver CO. These Symposia were co-sponsored by over 20 organizations and attended by over 1,000 people working in the Contemplative Science and Studies research fields. This program was held again in 2014 in Boston and the 3rd event is planned for 2016 in San Diego.
Challenges
Despite some interesting findings due to widespread applications of fMRI, contemplative neuroscience is largely an uncharted territory.
Problems and potentially interesting directions are : investigate any links to ethics; investigate induced gene expression; find an alternative to double-blind (since double-blind is impossible by definition here); find methodologies to measure calmness, kindness, mindfulness, etc.