You can learn to be loving and kind

2 April, 2008

It is an ages-old belief that emotions such as love, kindness and compassion are inborn and that they are either very difficult or impossible to acquire. But a new study seeks to debunk this well-entrenched concept by theorizing that feelings like kindness and compassion can be “learned” like one learns skills like reading and writing.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the United States, say that when they monitored subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), they were able to perceive that the part of the brain that controls empathy was affected when the subject was engaged in compassionate meditation.

The studies conducted recently using brain-imaging suggest that the insula and the anterior cingulate cortices regions of the brain are involved in the empathic response to other people’s pain. However, little is known about how cultivating compassion might affect brain circuitry.

Researches conducted earlier have indicated that meditation may reduce the brain’s reaction to pain and may improve cardiovascular health by decreasing the risk of metabolic syndrome.

The new study has been published in the March 26, 2008, issue of the journal Public Library of Science One.

Richard Davidson, director of the study and professor of psychiatry and psychology at University of Wisconsin-Madison, was quoted by the media as saying: “Many contemplative traditions speak of loving kindness as the wish for happiness for others and of compassion as the wish to relieve others’ suffering. We wanted to see how this voluntary generation of compassion affects the brain systems involved in empathy.”

For the research, Richard Davidson and Antoine Lutz, associate scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison, monitored 16 monks who had practiced about 10,000 hours of meditation, along with 16 other subjects who were given two weeks of training in basic elements of compassion meditation.

Included in the training was: first think about loved ones and wish them happiness and well-being and then expand those thoughts to include others.

Afterwards, the study subjects were attached to the fMRI machine and told to alternate between practicing compassion-meditation and desisting from it. While in both states, the subjects were exposed to negative and positive sounds from people that were designed to evoke empathy in the listener.

While the subjects were meditating, the fMRI scans showed activity in that part of the brain which plays a role in how emotions are manifested in the body. It was also seen that activity increased in that part of the brain which helps process empathy and the ability to estimate the mental and emotional state of others.

According to the researchers, though the effects of meditation were perceptible in all the study subjects, they were more prominent in those subjects possessing greater experience in meditation.

“The findings,” wrote Richard Davidson, “could have an impact on a wide range of people with behavioral or emotional problems. Everyone from children who are bullies in the schoolyard to those who suffer from depression may be able to learn how to feel happier and more compassionate.”

Latest updates    Contact Us - Feedback    About Us  /  Society Archive 1, Archive 2 , Archive 3 and Archive 4