“Mindfulness meditation, one type of meditation technique, has been shown to enhance emotional awareness and psychological flexibility as well as induce well-being and emotional balance. Scientists have also begun to examine how meditation may influence brain functions. This talk will examine the effect of mindfulness meditation practice on the brain systems in which psychological functions such as attention, emotional reactivity, emotion regulation, and self-view are instantiated. We will also discuss how different forms of meditation practices are being studied using neuro scientific technologies and are being integrated into clinical practice to address symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress.”

This video (48:54 minutes) features a presentation by Philippe Goldin, a research scientist who heads the Clinically Applied Affective Neuroscience group in the Department of Psychology at Stanford University.

Philippe spent 6 years in India and Nepal studying various languages, Buddhist philosophy and debate at Namgyal Monastery and the Dialectic Monastic Institute. He served as an interpreter for various Tibetan Buddhist lamas and later returned to the U.S. to complete a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University.

Goldin’s “NIH-funded clinical research focuses on (a) functional neuroimaging investigations of cognitive-affective mechanisms in adults with anxiety disorders, (b) comparing the effects of mindfulness meditation and cognitive-behavioral therapy on brain-behavior correlates of emotional reactivity and regulation, and (c) training children in family and elementary school settings in mindfulness skills to reduce anxiety and enhance compassion, self-esteem and quality of family interactions.”

Video courtesy of YouTube posted by Google University on March 1, 2008