News and Events

Lab and Research news stories

2012

November 11: The Burghy et al., Nature Neuroscience paper about infant stress and teen brain function gets press attention in UW News, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal and in the International weekly journal of science, Nature.

September: APA Monitor: Changing our brains, changing ourselves: Neuroscientist Richard Davidson believes that understanding the neurobiology of emotion can help all of us develop the right "emotional style" to improve our lives.

August 14: The Epoch Times: Game Builds Student Empathy: Teaching healthy habits of the mind through gaming. Dr. Richard Davidson, a pioneer in neuroscience research, is working with Dr. Kurt Squire to create a game in the form of a smartphone app centered around kindness and focus.

Summer 2012: Brain World Magazine: The creative science behind the emotional brain (pdf). A Q&A with Dr Richard J Davidson.

June 8: Scientific American: MIND Reviews: The Emotional Life of Your Brain

May 30: The Atlantic: What factors help and harm the mind's development? Richard Davidson and Bruce McEwen's Nature Neuroscience review is discussed in The Secrets of a Healthy Mind.

May 21: University of Wisconsin News: A Gates Foundation grant will fund the design and study of computer games focused on cultivating healthy minds in middle school students. Read the University of Wisconsin-Madison official press release.

April 19: Medical News Today: The Benefits Of Multiple Practices In Changing Brains For The Better: Read the article about a recent review, co-written by Richard Davidson (CIHM) and Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University, that highlights ways the brain can be changed through practice.

March 23: ABC News - Daydream Believers: Scientists Ask Why Our Minds Wander For more, read the official UW-Madison press release.

January 23, 2012: Notice of Award - Helen Weng was the recipient of a Graduate Student Award (including travel award) for the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, 2012. Her presentation title is, "Multi-Voxel Pattern Analysis of Brain States After Compassion Training Predicts Charitable Donations"

2011

October 16: Wisconsin State Journal: UW Madison researchers to meet with Dalai Lama - Jonathan Patz and Richard Davidson travel to India.

ctober 5: Bas Rokers, Psychology professor and Brain Imaging PI, is featured in National Geographic's show, Brain Games, which will air Sunday night (Oct 9th) at 7:00 pm Central time on the National Geographic Channel (NGC). Plus, you might see other BI staff members!

July 23: Philadelphia Inquirer (Philly.com): Into 'the science of thriving' covers Richard Davidson's involvement in the Second World Congress on Positive Psychology in Philadelphia on Tuesday, July 26.

July 14: New York Times: Graduate student, Jenny Liu, and her colleagues at Harvard covered in this NYT article, Internet Use Affects Memory, Study Finds.

June 27: Notice of Award: The National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine has awarded Brandi Cage, PhD, a Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research Program. Congrats Brandi!!

June 4: Notice of Award: The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, has awarded Alexander K Converse, PhD, a BRS Shared Instrumentation Grant for his project: UW-Madison Small Animal PET: High Resolution Large Bore Tomograph.

May 18: Wisconsin State Journal: Investigating healthy minds: Preschool study seeks to teach kindness. ... the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, a research hub founded in 2008 within the Waisman Center at UW-Madison takes an atypical approach to scientific inquiry. Instead of studying disease and disorder, researchers probe positive attributes such as compassion and contentment.

March 11: Antoine Lutz was interviewed by the Dana Foundation for an article called "Meditation—Still Many Unknowns". The Dana Foundation is a private philanthropic organization that supports brain research through grants and educates the public about the successes and potential of brain research.

January 18: UW News: Stress, anxiety both boon and bane to brain. Alex Shackman's latest publication in the Journal of Neuroscience is discussed in this press release. See also the UPI, ScienceDaily and the MilwaukeeNewsBuzz articles.

January, 2011: Daniel Levinson has received the Mind & Life Institute’s 2010-2011 Francisco J. Varela Research Award. Daniel's research application on Developing a Behavioral Measure of Mindfulness has been accepted for funding of $15,000!

2010

November 18: Big Ten Network: Office Hours, a half hour weekly talk show on the Big Ten Network, hosted by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Ken Goldstein, interviewed Richie Davidson in early November for an episode called Happy, Healthy Minds.

November 10: NBC15.com: ADHD Research Begins - CIHM Researchers will soon begin testing and developing a drug-free alternative for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and high functioning autism in children.

October 26: CNN: Can meditation change your brain? Contemplative neuroscientists believe it can. Can people strengthen the brain circuits associated with happiness and positive behavior, just as we’re able to strengthen muscles with exercise?

October 2: Los Angeles Times: Fully experiencing the present: a practice for everyone, religious or not. Mindfulness, the heart of Buddhist meditation, is at the core of being able to live life as if it really matters. It has nothing to do with Buddhism. It has to do with freedom.

September 8: UW-News: Dalai Lama Trust to fund UW-Madison research on healthy minds. The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds (CIHM) at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison has received a grant from the Dalai Lama's personal trust to further its research mission. See also USA Today, UW Badger Herald and WisBusiness.com

June 22: The Diane Rehm Show: The Power of Meditation: Richard Davidson was one of three guests on The Diane Rehm Show based in Washington, DC.

May: The Lutz et al., 2004 PNAS was paper among the top 50 most-read articles during May 2010, listed as number 35.

May 15: Associated Press: Scientist inspired by Dalai Lama studies happiness. After hearing about his cutting-edge research on the brain and emotions through mutual friends, the Dalai Lama invited Richard Davidson to his home in India in 1992 to pose a question.

May 14: Journal Sentinal: UW to study effects of meditation, yoga on veterans' stress. Beginning this fall, the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds will apply the tools of neuroscience - including brain imaging - in studies to determine what if any effect such contemplative practices have on veterans with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.

April 14: U.S. News & World Report: The Science of Workplace Happiness. Over the past several years, Richard Davidson has peered into the minds of monks, pored over brain scans, analyzed neural processes, and maybe—just maybe—discovered some of the keys to manufacturing happiness.

March 31: The Dana Foundation features Aaron Heller's 2009 PNAS paper in their article called Some With Depression May Lack 'Happiness Stamina'

February 26: Shrink Rap Radio: Richard J Davidson was a recent guest on www.shrinkrapradio.com where he discusses The Meditating Brain.

January 4: UW News: UW-Madison happiness research featured in NOVA documentary

2009

December 21: Aaron Heller's PNAS paper covered by:

UW News: Depression saps endurance of the brain's reward circuitry
Scientific American: Going the distance: A new study finds that the reward center in the brains of depressed people lacks endurance
BusinessWeek: Depressed People Can't Hold Onto Happiness

November 18: U.S. News & World Reports: Try Meditation to Lower Your Blood Pressure and Protect Your Heart, Cheap, low-tech stress relief may also protect against depression, insomnia, and anxiety

November 13: University Communications covers the latest Lutz et al. paper in the Journal of Neuroscience: Can Meditation Sharpen our Attention?

October 23: Regina Lapate received the Graduate Student Poster award at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research in Berlin, Germany for her poster entitled "The contribution of affective style to the successful downregulation of pain: A psychophysiological and neuroimaging investigation."

October 27: UW News: Faculty choreographers collaborate with campus colleagues in concert. MRI images from the Waisman Brain Imaging Lab have been incorporated into video projection in Peggy Choy's dance piece.

October 13: WPR Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders. Richard Davidson was Jean Feraca's guest. They discussed the topic of his involvement with the Mind and Life Institute’s “Educating World Citizens for the 21st Century" conference.

October 7: Calgary Herald article Meditation influences brain function.

September 25: Vancouver Sun article Health: Mental exercise like meditation can literally change our minds

August 3: Xconomy.com article: Buddhists May Help Biotechies Solve Big Mental Health Woes, Says Merck Vet Ben Shapiro

July 21: The Huffington Post article by Dan Goleman: Joyful Wisdom: How Happy Can We Be?

July 17: New York Times Opinion by Daniel Goleman: Sitting Quietly, Doing Something

June 7: USA Today: 'Mindfulness' meditation being used in hospitals and schools

May 20: NPR: All Things Considered series on The Science Of Spirituality: Prayer May Reshape Your Brain ... And Your Reality. Listen or read here.

March 26: Congressman Tim Ryan (D) from Ohio speaks at a Labor HHS Subcommittee Hearing with NIH/NCCAM about the need for mindulness based practices and of the Davidson and Kabat-Zinn research in this area.

March 20: Isthmus Cover Story: Building a Better Brain

February 12: Listen to a talk Richard Davidson gave at the Upaya Institute and Zen Center on January 9 called Zen Brain.

February 5: The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deserate News cover Richard Davidson's Tanner Lecture on Human Values in Utah

February 3: RadioWest in Salt Lake City interviews Richard Davidson prior to his 2009 Tanner Lecture on Human Values. Listen to the 52 minutes interview here.

January 2: UW News covers Jack Nitschke's work in Expectant brains help predict anxiety treatment success

2008

December 29: US News & World Report: How to Beat Stress and Angst Through Meditation

November 17: Campus News: A Kinder, Gentler Brain? UW scientist enters uncharted territory to understand positive qualities

November 3: UW School of Medicine and Public Health: $6 Million Grant Creates Meditation Study Center

November 1: Richard Davidson was a guest on the Living Hero Podcast. You can stream or download the 25-minute interview here and find more information about the interview series at www.livinghero.com

October: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) newsletter: "Of Meditation, Monks, and Music: Dr. Davidson Speaks on Systematic Mind-Body Training" plus and interview with Dr. Davidson.

Sept 10: UW Madison News: the new Fetzer Initiative on the Neuroscience of Love, Compassion and Forgiveness.

May 30: Latest episode on Peace Talks Radio, called "The Neuroscience of Compassion" features Richard Davidson, Dan Siegel and others.

April 8: Dan Rather Reports: Antoine Lutz, Andy Francis and Richie Davidson appear on the first ~20 minutes of this HDNet program called Mind Science (Episode 313, available on iTunes).

April 6: The Seattle Times: Scientists to share insights into compassion with the Dalai Lama

April 1: The Lutz et al. Trends in Cognitive Science paper made the cover of the April issue

March 26: Coverage of the Lutz et al. paper in PLoS ONE
• UW Madison News: Study shows compassion meditation changes the brain
• Newsweek: The Lotus and the Synapse (no longer available)
• Scientific American: Meditate on This: You Can Learn to Be More Compassionate
• WebMD: Brain Can Learn Compassion via Meditation
• US News & World Reports: Meditation Can Wish You Well, Study Says
• CNN Video: Can you learn compassion?
• BBC News: Scientists probe meditation secrets
• MSNBC/LiveScience: Neuroscience may explain the Dalai Lama

April: Oprah Magazine: Love's Little Blind Spots

March: Oprah Magazine: This is your brain on happiness

February 10: Australian Broadcasting Company's Calalyst program called The Science of Happiness featuring the meditation research from the Davidson lab

February 3: Appleton Post-Crescent: Expertise on early brain development to be shared

January 11: ABC News, Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness or video (with commercial)

2007

December 10, 2007: View Richard Davidson's talk at the CASEL Forum in New York: The Neuroscience of Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning

November 13: The Daily Cardinal interviews Jack Nitschke in The science behind fear

November 12: Contemplation and Education - Landscape of Research: A panel discussion with Richard Davidson, Father Thomas Keating and John Dunne. Wisconsin Union Theater 7:30-9:30pm.

November 8: Capital Times: article covering Nov 12 Panel Discussion, Kid contemplatives: UW neuroscientist's project aims to give middle-schoolers tools of 'mindfulness' and meditation

October 24: UWHC Spritiual Care Grand Rounds: Richard Davidson speaks on Implications of Scientific Research on Meditation for Spiritual Care

October 23: Wall Street Journal: article on self-focused rumination, Do You Hear What I Hear? Telling Off a Colleague -- Silently

October 22: The Emory Wheel: Richard Davidson attends the 15th Mind and Life Conference: Mindfulness, Compassion, and the Treatment of Depression

October 18: Madison Magazine: Richard Davidson named "Person of the Year"

nv_fig5 September: Nick Vandehey, graduate student of Dr Brad Christian, received a Most Innovative Honorable Mention award among the "Siemans Preclinical Images of the Year" - presented at the Joint Molecular Imaging Conference held in Providence, RI. View the Siemens Award publication.

August 15: UW Press release about the Johnstone et al. paper: Clinical depression linked to abnormal emotional brain circuits

August 11: Opening of the Hedberg HealthEmotions Research Building

June 25: UW Press Release about the Brefczynski-Lewis et al. paper: Brain scans show how meditation changes minds, increases attention

May 8: Coverage of the Slagter et al. paper in PLoS
• UW-Madison Press Release, Meditation may fine-tune control over attention
• Wisconsin State Journal, Study: Meditation Can Improve Focus
• New York Times, Study Suggests Meditation Can Help Train Attention
• PLoS news article, Learning to Pay Attention

March 18: BBC News: Fear centre 'shrinks' in autism

January 19: Wall Street Journal: How Thinking Can Change the Brain

2006

December 3: Karen Michel, To the Best of Our Knowledge, Wisconsin Public Radio - The Brain & Belief (Segment 1)

December: Coverage of the autism article from Nacewicz et al.: UW News, National Institues of Health News, CBCNews, Reuters Fountdation AlterNet, Wisconsin State Journal.

October 26: The Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA has named Richard Davidson as the first recipient of The Mani Bhaumik Award.

October: Psychology Today: Mastering Your Own Mind.

Sept 18: Wisconsin State Journal: Pursuing peace through meditation

September: PNAS article from Nitschke and associates on anticipation and emotional memory covered by ABC News, BBC News and the Wisconsin State Journal.

June 4: The Denver Post: Willing your way to happiness.

May 8: Time Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential People : East Meets West in His Laboratory. Also see: University Communications and the Wisconsin State Journal.

March 29: PBS: "The New Medicine" documentary web site or video clip

March 17: Wall Street Journal: All in Your Head?

March 3: Wisconsin State Journal: Brain can override taste buds

February 6: Scientific American: Expectations Influence Sense of Taste

January 31: New York Times: Holding Loved One's Hand Can Calm Jittery Neurons

January 10: Time Magazine: How to Get Smarter, One Breath at a Time

January 4: JAMA: Studies Probe Autism Anatomy, Genetics