Center for Healthy Minds | 625 W. Washington Ave., Madison, WI 53703-2637
Featured Finding
Maher, C., Tortolero, L., Cummins, D. D., Saad, A., Young, J., Martinez, L. N., Schulman, Z., Marcuse, L., Waters, A., Mayberg, H. S., Davidson, R. J., Saez, I., & Panov, F. (in press).
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. PMC Journal - In Process.
Ongoing Studies
Baby Brain and Behavior Project
Our researchers are learning more about how very early experiences influence the developing brain and child well-being.
Body Awareness, Mindfulness and Mind-Body Coherence
How does the relationship between mental and physical stress impact well-being?
Cognitive Control and the Regulation of Emotion, Attention and Pain
Are people who are better at controlling their attention, emotion or pain responses in a laboratory setting more successful at carrying that skill into daily life?
Conceptions of Mindfulness
Scholars at the Center examine perceptions and experiences related to mindfulness and how they contribute to studying differing practices.
Emotion and Wellness Study
Richard J. Davidson,
Lauren Gresham,
Dan Grupe,
Melissa Rosenkranz,
Stacey M. Schaefer,
Nate Vack,
Elizabeth Nord,
Heather C. Abercrombie,
Dan Fitch,
Alexandra Barnes
How do people experience emotions over a period of time and what does that say about their resilience and well-being?
Examining Individual Differences in Contemplative Practice Response
Richard J. Davidson,
John D. Dunne,
Melissa Rosenkranz,
Tawni Tidwell,
Kevin M. Riordan,
Jo Handelsman
This study seeks to build upon knowledge from Tibetan medicine through examining well-being data and microbiome measures on a variety of people with varying levels of meditation training who have participated in previous intervention studies to gain a better understanding of what works for whom and why.
Examining the Relationship Between Emotion and Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease
Center for Healthy Minds researchers are examining how emotion may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Investigating Neuroplasticity Associated with Cognitive Training in Young Children
How does a cognitive training program impact brain development in 6-year-old children?
Mapping the Interface between Meditation and Neuroscience
Center researchers and collaborators are building new approaches to understand the links between traditional contemplative perspectives and scientific theory to better study the scientific effects of meditation training on the brain, body, mind and behavior.
Midlife Development in the United States
Stacey M. Schaefer,
Lauren Gresham,
Alexandra Barnes,
Elizabeth Nord,
Sarah E. Skinner,
Ajay Kumar Nair,
Jeanne Harris,
Anna J. Finley
Our scientists examine how individual differences in emotional reactivity and recovery to emotional stimuli, brain structure and patterns of brain activity are related to life experiences, personality, behavior, health and well-being across the adult lifespan in a large national longitudinal sample.
Smiling Faces Task and Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Following up with past research participants about the pandemic's impact on their lives and their current psychological outlook.
The Field Study of Long-term Meditation Practitioners and the Tukdam Post-death Meditative State
Richard J. Davidson,
Svyatoslav Medvedev,
Tsetan Dorji Sadutshang,
Tsewang Tamdin,
Telo Tulku Rinpoche,
John D. Dunne,
Alexander Y. Kaplan,
Leslie Eisenberg,
Alexander Fedotov,
Robin Goldman,
Bindu M. Kutty,
PN Ravindra,
Elena Kokurina,
Tawni Tidwell,
Julia Boytsova,
Geshe Ngawang Norbu,
Geshe Lodoe Sangpo,
Yulia Zhironkina,
Kristin Blake,
Dan Fitch
A global community of field researchers are collaborating on a study of an ancient monastic post-mortem meditative state known as tukdam, practiced by present-day expert Tibetan Buddhists and how such a practice might offer insight into mental, spiritual, and physical well-being during the death process, both for the dying and for their support community.
Understanding Mindfulness through Buddhist Contemplative Practice
How can Buddhist traditions influence the study and practice of mindfulness today?
Understanding the Mechanisms of Well-Being Training in Adults with and without Asthma
Nagesh Adluru,
Gina Bednarek,
William W. Busse,
Kara Chung,
Richard J. Davidson,
Daniela Dentico,
Robin Goldman,
Dan Grupe,
Jeanne Harris,
Chris Harty,
Antoine Lutz,
Elizabeth Nord,
Elena Patsenko,
Melissa Rosenkranz,
Jane Sachs,
Giulio Tononi,
Ajay Kumar Nair,
Tawni Tidwell
Center scientists and collaborators examine the impact of well-being training.
Viewing Depression Through an Evolutionary Lens
Can we use an evolutionary perspective to better understand depression?