2010 Templeton Positive Neuroscience Awards
The 2010 Templeton Positive Neuroscience Awards, over $2.9 million in research funding, have been announced by the Positive Psychology Center of the University of Pennsylvania and the John Templeton Foundation.
“Research has shown that positive emotions and interventions can bolster health, achievement and resilience and can buffer against depression and anxiety,” explains Martin E. P. Seligman, founder of the Positive Psychology movement and the director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center. “And while considerable research in neuroscience has focused on disease, dysfunction and the harmful effects of stress and trauma, very little is known about the neural mechanisms of human flourishing. Creating this network of positive neuroscience researchers will change that.”
More than 190 applicants competed for the 15 awards. The Positive Neuroscience Project, established in 2008 by Seligman, is funded by a $5.8 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Seligman founded the field of Positive Psychology in 1998 on the belief that it is important to study the things that make people happy rather than focus only on those things that negatively impact life.
The winners of the 2010 Positive Neuroscience Awards, were selected by a committee of psychologist, neuroscientists, and researchers representing Harvard, the University of Colorado, Emory University, Ohio State, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stony Brook University in Long Island.
Winning studies, as announced by the University of Pennsylvania, include:
* Abigail Marsh, to study neural functioning of heroically altruistic people.
* James K. Rilling, to study why some fathers are better parents than others.
* Kateri McRae and Iris Mauss, to study the neural bases of resilience.
* Elena Antonova, to study how meditation affects sensory processing in the brain.
* Alon Chen and Elad Schneidman to study the companionship at the molecular level.
* Britta Hölzel and Mohammed Milad to find out if meditation helps people conquer their fears.
* Psyche Loui from Harvard Medical School to study how the brain enables artistic genius.
* Jason Mitchell and Jamil Zaki to study the relationship between doing good and feeling good and how both can be amplified within and between people.
* India Morrison from the University of Gothenburg to study how pleasurable touch affects the way we understand and relate to others.
* Stephanie D. Preston to study the neural differences between sensing that someone is in pain or danger and taking action to help them.
* Laurie Santos, to investigate how altruism evolved in the brain.
* William Cunningham and Alexander Todorov to study how people’s social goals influence how their brain processes important social stimuli.
* Tor Wager and Sona Dimidjian to study how compassionate thinking impacts brain function and leads to more caring behavior.
* Thalia Wheatley from will study how different brain regions process emotion and support social intelligence.
* Adam Anderson will study the neural and genetic bases of positivity and resilience.