Antoine Lutz

 

Current Research

PDFs of Publications

Curriculum Vitae

Links

 

 

I am currently an associate scientist at the  Waisman Lab for Brain Imaging & Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am doing my research in collaboration with Prof. R. J. Davidson and several researchers from his lab.

Contact:
Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging & Behavior
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1500 Highland Avenue
Madison, WI 53703-2280
(tel) (1).608.262.8705
(fax) (1).608.262.9440
alutz@wisc.edu

                     

I am interested in understanding the neural counterparts to subjective experience and, more generally, the mechanisms underlying mind-brain-body interactions. In the first part of my research, I am studying the role of large-scale neuronal integration (neural synchrony mechanisms) during various mental states (voluntary attention, emotion generation); The emphasis of my work is in the use of introspective, or first-person, data in order to understand the function of these large-scale dynamical processes (Neurophenomenology). In the second part of my research, I am studying the relationship between mental training, as cultivated in contemplative traditions, and neuroplasticity. More precisely, I am looking at the impact of standard meditation techniques on basic affective, cognitive and social functions and on the brain mechanisms that subserve these processes.

Current researches and collaborations include:

  1. Neuro-functional (fMRI) and neuro-dynamical (EEG) study of several standard meditative states (concentration/mindfulness, compassion and loving-kindness, and open presence meditations) in a group of highly trained Buddhist practitioners (more than 10, 000 hours of meditation in life). The most recent study includes neuroimaging of the modulatory effect of these meditative states on physical pain.
  2. Longitudinal study on the impact of three months of intensive Vipassana meditation on attention (behaviors and event-related potentials, EEG) and cellular aging (telomeres).
  3. Longitudinal study on the impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program and Health Enhancement Program (HEP) on pain regulation (fMRI), emotion regulation (fMRI), attention (behavior tasks) and the inflammatory and cortisol responses to a social stressor.