Psychologists have long known that memories of disturbing emotional events — such as an act of violence or the unexpected death of a loved one — are more vivid and deeply imprinted in the brain than mundane recollections of everyday matters.
Brain Imaging
Study finds two brain systems regulate how people call for help
The willingness to call out in distress to get help from others appears to be regulated by two brain systems with very different responsibilities, according to a study by researchers at UW-Madison.
Study: Eye contact triggers threat signals in autistic children’s brains
Brain tests at UW-Madison suggest that autistic children shy from eye contact because they perceive even the most familiar face as an uncomfortable threat.
Richard Davidson’s work featured in Time and National Geographic magazines
Richard Davidson is featured in the January 17, 2005 issue of Time magazine in a special section on the science of happiness as well as in the March 2005 issue of National Geographic magazine.
Richard Davidson’s research cited: the effect of meditation on brain
In the first scientific article to come from its pioneering studies of long-term Buddhist meditation practitioners, a UW-Madison team has found that long-term meditators (or “adepts”) show markedly different patterns of brain electrical oscillations compared to a group with no previous meditative experience, when both of them generated a standard meditative practice.
Serenity Now
The search for happiness can take many paths.
Waisman Center Researchers Awarded $10.7 Million Grant for Brain Imaging Research on Emotion
Even though we all experience similar emotions, we respond to them in different ways.
Davidson’s Emotion Research Featured in New York Times Magazine
Waisman Researcher Richard Davidson, Ph.D., has been featured in several media stories lately regarding his work with the brain mechanisms that underlie emotions. The most recent is a story in the September 14, 2003 New …
Study shows brain activity influences immune function
Staying healthy may involve more than washing hands or keeping a positive attitude. According to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it also may involve a particular pattern of brain activity.
Meditation produces positive changes in the brain
In a small but highly provocative study, a UW-Madison research team has found, for the first time, that a short program in “mindfulness meditation” produced lasting positive changes in both the brain and the function of the immune system.