University of Arizona Department of Psychology

 

 

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Welcome!

 

Several of the world’s wisdom traditions, and an increasing body of recent scientific research, converge on the view that much individual and collective suffering can be traced to misapprehension of oneself and others, which gives rise to afflictive desire and aversion. On an individual level, this suffering is manifest in low life satisfaction, and in the etiology or aggravation of certain mental and physical disorders. On a collective level, this suffering manifests in group, cultural, and national greed, hatred, and aggression.

Contemplative practice traditions have made the claim that various forms of meditation have the potential to reduce the misapprehension at the root of suffering, with attendant enhanced mental clarity, discernment, wisdom, and equanimity.

The vision of the Neuropsychology, Emotion, and Meditation (NEM) Laboratory is one of a fully collaborative partnership between contemplative practitioners, scholars, and scientists, in which laboratory and field experiments can be designed and conducted to test the claims and predictions of contemplative traditions in relation to specific individual and social problems. These scientific investigations, should they provide support for hypotheses based on the claims of contemplative traditions, are seen as providing a skillful bridge for contemporary persons, particularly in the Western world, to access and engage in contemplative practices.

 

Mission:

Given the history and past accomplishments of the NEM laboratory, particular emphasis is placed upon testing the claims of contemplative traditions in application to cognitive, emotional, and existential challenges of aging, utilizing behavioral, neuropsychological, neuroimaging, and psychophysiological research technologies to measure the psychological and biological correlates and consequences of meditation practices, and assessing the ways in which the study of meditation practitioners can enhance our understanding of the fundamental nature of mental, emotional, and adaptive processes.

 

The Neuropsychology, Emotion, and Memory Lab was founded by Dr. Alfred W. KaszniakThe lab is located in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. If you are interested in participating in our research, or would simply like to learn more about our laboratory, please contact us.

 

 

Neuropsychology, Emotion, and Meditation Lab

The University of Arizona

Department of Psychology

1503 E. University Blvd.

Tucson, AZ 85721

Phone: (520)621-4003

Fax:(520)621-9306

e-mail us