Cognitive Neuroscience of Meditation

Buddhist philosophy describes a model as to how the mind works. Neuroscientists have begun to study the impact of meditation on brain structure and function, often using Buddhist philosophy to guide their hypotheses. We will review neuroscientific literature and discuss how it relates to Buddhist philosophy, using the four foundations of mindfulness as the primary framework. The course will be a mixture of lecture, discussion of a primary scientific paper that is assigned each week, and presentations by students. Pre-Requisites: NEUR0010 or Declared Contemplative Studies Concentration.