Wednesday, July 21, 8 a.m.
"Change Your Brain by Transforming Your Mind:
Meditation and Neuroplasticity"

Richard J. Davidson, PhD

Dr. Davidson is a world-class scholar in neuroscience. He is a William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Dalai Lama, in 1992, challenged Dr. Davidson to bring the rigorous techniques used to study negative qualities of mind to bear on the positive qualities of healthy minds. The resulting research at the UW-Madison has led to the development of contemplative neuroscience, a hybrid discipline that uses science to study the impact of contemplative practices. Building on a firm scientific foundation, the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds was established in 2008 and is dedicated to understanding the biology of a healthy brain and discovering how meditation, as well as love, compassion and forgiveness, can transform it. In 2003, Dr. Davidson was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and to the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in 2004. TIME magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006, the year he was also awarded the first Mani Bhaumik Award by UCLA for advancing the understanding of the brain and conscious mind in healing. See the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds' website for more information.

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