Neuroscientists Attempt to Identify Leadership in the Brain

Here is you and everything you know. From IBT.

Nothing much is going on with "happiness" per se, but some interesting news has come in regarding another aspect of positive psychology:  the flourishing of human skills. International Business Times reports that researchers at the W. P. Carey School of Business are using brain imaging and neurofeedback techniques to identify and improve the leadership areas of the brain.

Professor Pierre Balthazard and his team have collected EEG data on around 350 senior executives at various businesses. They then correlated this data with performance data to see which areas of the brain help create inspiring leadership. Balthazard says, "The concept has been proven. Now we have to go beyond the proof of concept into operationalization. Then, we will move into the delivery of products and services."

This process will probably involve neurofeedback, wherein scientists will reinforce certain areas of subjects' brains to help steer neuroplasticity in the right direction. The mental health implications of these techniques sound rather exciting to me, but I could also see how some people might be freaked out by the possibility of "mind control." As long as the scientists understand ethical boundaries with what their doing (and it sounds like Balthazard does) these techniques could be a great help to a lot of people!

Weekend Viewing: Matthieu Ricard

Wow, another TED Talk!? How original! Yes, TED is basically my go-to place for videos, but the collections are usually so interesting that I feel no shame in doing so.

Today's video is courtesy of Matthieu Ricard, a French Buddhist monk with an education in molecular genetics. He completed his doctoral thesis in 1972, but left the Institut Pasteur to move to the Himalayas. You may also recognize him from his work with Richard Davidson studying the neurological effects of meditation. He has also received the French Order of Merit for humanitarianism in the East.

Matthieu talks about desire, meditation, neuroplasticity, Richard Davidson, and more, so give it a look-see!

Exercise May Rewire the Brain for Happiness

From Discovery Health

Hello! Let me be the first to welcome you to Monday. This morning brings good news to you exercisers out there:  your brain may be more adept at handling stress. The Springfield, Missouri News-Reader reports on a Princeton study that put animals on a six-week aerobic conditioning program. After six weeks, researchers compared the braincells of the exercise group to those of the sedentary control group. The exercised brains morphed into a "biochemically calm" state, while the sedentary brains continued to react strongly to anxiety. Cardiovascular exercise is apparently better for this than strength training, though both have a noticeable effect.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't go into much detail about which animals were used in the study, but Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain explains a similar study with hamsters. In that study, exercise was shown to increase braincell production, as long as the hamsters exercised willingly (as opposed to being forced). This brings up the issue of neuroplasticity, which I've mentioned once or twice. The long and short of it is that brains are more malleable (in a good way) than people realize.

So if you don't exercise regularly, this is another reason to start. Like most things in life, it takes effort and practice, but the benefits are nearly unimaginable!

Casual Friday: Meditation

Hello and welcome to Friday! Today I'll give a brief introduction to the benefits of meditation using Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche's The Joy of Living. Born in Nepal in 1975, Yongey is one of the many Tibetan Buddhists to embrace modern science. He is also a best-selling author that is remarkably good at explaining the marriage between the two traditions.

In The Joy of Living, Yongey recounts a study by the neuroscientist Richard Davidson that tested meditation's effect on the brain. Davidson recruited test subjects from a Midwest corporation, hooking them up to an EEG and fMRI to measure their brain activity. He then gave the test group a ten-week course in beginner's meditation (leaving the control group alone, of course). The results were astounding. Even this short experiment produced significant electrical increases in the pleasure centers of the test subjects' brains. They felt happier, calmer, and more compassionate toward others. In blood tests, they also had a higher number of antibodies in their immune system.

So how do you meditate? Well, it's pretty simple actually, but it might not be easy. It's simple because all you need to do is calm your mind. Unfortunately for most of us, that takes practice.

Here's a simple method to get you started:

1. Sit in a comfortable position.
2. Really notice what thoughts are going through your head, but don't get attached to any of them. Just let them pass through your mind.
3. If you want something to focus on, try counting your breaths without letting other thoughts come in. If you get distracted, that's okay. Gently remind yourself to keep counting.

That's pretty much all there is to it. As I said, this is a brief introduction, and other people are better at explaining it than me. The important thing is to PRACTICE. Like most things in life, meditation becomes easier and better the more you do it. Over time, it can actually change the physical structure of your brain for the better (see neuroplasticity).

Anyway, have a happy and calm Friday!