Richard Davidson

Richard J. Davidson (born December 12, 1951) is professor of

Richard Davidson
psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–
Madison as well as founder and chair of the Center for Healthy
Minds.

Contents
Early life and education
Career Rajesh Kasturirangan with the 14th
Dalai Lama, Geshe Thupten Jinpa
Research
and Richard Davidson at Mind and
Research with the Dalai Lama
Life Institute XXVI conference, 2013
Awards and honors
Born December 12, 1951
Personal meditation practice
Alma mater New York University
Publications Harvard University
Selected publications
Known for Neurological effects of
Papers
meditation
Books
Scientific career
References
Fields Neuroscience,
External links
psychology
Institutions University of
Wisconsin–Madison
Early life and education
Influences William James
Born to a Jewish family[1] in Brooklyn,[2] Richard "Richie"
Davidson attended Midwood High School. While there, between 1968–1971, he worked as a summer
research assistant in the sleep laboratory at nearby Maimonides Medical Center[2] cleaning electrodes
that had been affixed to subjects' bodies for sleep studies.[3]

Davidson went on to receive his B.A. in Psychology from NYU (Heights) in 1972.[2][4][5][6] He chose to
study at Harvard University to work with Daniel Goleman and Gary Schwartz[3] and gained his Ph.D. in
Personality, Psychopathology, and Psychophysiology there in 1976.[2][6] At Harvard, Davidson was
mentored by David C. McClelland and was also influenced by Norman Geschwind and Walle J. H.
Nauta.[3]

Career
In 1976 Davidson took a teaching post at the State University of New York at Purchase where he
subsequently held several posts including research consultancies at the Department of Pediatrics, Infant
Laboratory, Roosevelt Hospital, New York and the Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on
Aging, NIH.[2]
In 1984 he joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin at Madison[3] where he has since remained.
He previously served as the director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience and of the Waisman
Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior (https://www.waisman.wisc.edu/brain-imaging/). He is
founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds (https://centerhealthyminds.org/).[6]

Research
Davidson's research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style as well as
methods to promote human flourishing, including meditation and related contemplative practices. His
studies have centered on people across the lifespan, from birth through old age. In addition, he has
conducted studies with individuals with emotional disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders and
autism, as well as expert meditation practitioners with tens of thousands of hours of experience. His
research uses a wide range of methods including different varieties of MRI, positron emission
tomography, electroencephalography and modern genetic and epigenetic methods.

Richard Davidson is popularizing the idea that based on what is known about the plasticity of the brain,
neuroplasticity, that one can learn happiness and compassion as skills just as one learns to play a musical
instrument, or train in golf or tennis.[7] Happiness, like any skill, requires practice and time but because
one knows that the brain is built to change in response to mental training, it is possible to train a mind to
be happy.[7]

Davidson argues for a diagnosis of clinical depression with the help of emotional style. He describes
emotional style as a set of continuums where some people fall at one extreme of the continuum while
others fall somewhere in the middle. Clinical depression manifests as extremes on the outlook and
resilience dimensions, where those afflicted have a more negative outlook and are slower to recover from
adversity.[8]

Richard Davidson and his collaborators have used rhesus monkeys as models of human neurophysiology
and emotional response since 1992 when he and fellow UW–Madison researchers Ned H. Kalin and
Steven E. Shelton published “Lateralized effects of diazepam on frontal brain electrical asymmetries in
rhesus monkeys.”[9] In 2004 the same group published further results on the role of the central nucleus of
the amygdala in mediating fear and anxiety in the primate.[10] In 2007, Drs Kalin, Shelton & Davidson
reported that experimental lesions of adolescent rhesus monkeys' orbitofrontal cortex resulted in
"significantly decreased threat-induced freezing and marginally decreased fearful responses to a
snake."[11]

Dr. Davidson's work with human subjects has attracted the attention of both scientific and popular press,
and has been covered by Scientific American[12] and The New York Times.[13]

Research with the Dalai Lama

Davidson has been a longtime friend of the 14th Dalai Lama, and some of his work involves research on
the brain as it relates to meditation.[7] Davidson has long maintained his own daily meditation practice,
and continues to communicate regularly with the Dalai Lama.

This connection has caused controversy, with some scientists criticizing Davidson for being too close to
someone with an interest in the outcome of his research and others claiming that it represents an
inappropriate mix of faith and science. When he invited the Dalai Lama to participate in the
"Neuroscience and Society" program of the Society for Neuroscience meeting in 2005, over 500
researchers signed a petition in protest.[14][15] Some of the petitioners were Chinese researchers, who
may disagree politically with the Dalai Lama's stance on Tibet.[14] The controversy subsided quickly
after most scientists attending the talk found it appropriate.[16]

Awards and honors

In 2000, Davidson received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, for lifetime achievement
from the American Psychological Association.[3]

Time magazine named Dr. Davidson one of the world's top 100 most influential people in a 2006
issue.[17]

Personal meditation practice

Davidson's practice has changed considerably over the years. In recent years he practices in the Tibetan
Buddhist tradition, including prostration to the teachings, and meditating "not primarily for my benefit,
but for the benefit of others."[18]

Publications
Davidson has published many papers, chapter articles and edited 13 books.[5] In 2001 he was the
founding co-editor, with Klaus Scherer, of the American Psychological Association journal Emotion.[19]

Davidson is currently on the Editorial Board of Greater Good Magazine, published by the Greater Good
Science Center of the University of California, Berkeley.[20] Dr. Davidson's contributions include the
interpretation of scientific research into the roots of compassion, altruism, and peaceful human
relationships.[7]

His most recent book, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and
Body, was co-authored with friend and colleague Daniel Goleman and released in September 2017.

He has written a New York Times bestseller (with Sharon Begley) titled The Emotional Life of Your Brain,
published by Penguin in March 2012.

A documentary film about the work of Davidson called "Free The Mind", directed by Phie Ambo, was
released in 2012.

Selected publications

Papers
Davidson, R.; Lutz, A. (2008). "Buddha's Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation [In the
Spotlight]" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2944261). IEEE Signal
Processing Magazine. 25 (1): 176–174. Bibcode:2008ISPM...25..176D (https://ui.adsabs.ha
rvard.edu/abs/2008ISPM...25..176D). doi:10.1109/MSP.2008.4431873 (https://doi.org/10.11
09%2FMSP.2008.4431873). PMC 2944261 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC
2944261). PMID 20871742 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20871742).
Kern, S.; Oakes, T. R.; Stone, C. K.; McAuliff, E. M.; Kirschbaum, C.; Davidson, R. J.
(2008). "Glucose metabolic changes in the prefrontal cortex are associated with HPA axis
 response to a psychosocial stressor" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC26015
62). Psychoneuroendocrinology. 33 (4): 517–529. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.01.010 (http
s://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.psyneuen.2008.01.010). PMC 2601562 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.g
ov/pmc/articles/PMC2601562). PMID 18337016 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1833701
6).
Lutz, A.; Brefczynski-Lewis, J.; Johnstone, T.; Davidson, R. J. (2008). Baune, Bernhard
(ed.). "Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of
Meditative Expertise" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2267490). PLoS ONE.
3 (3): e1897. Bibcode:2008PLoSO...3.1897L (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008PLoS
O...3.1897L). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001897 (https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0
001897). PMC 2267490 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2267490).
PMID 18365029 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18365029).
Lutz, A.; Slagter, H. A.; Dunne, J. D.; Davidson, R. J. (2008). "Attention regulation and
monitoring in meditation" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2693206). Trends
in Cognitive Sciences. 12 (4): 163–169. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005 (https://doi.org/10.10
16%2Fj.tics.2008.01.005). PMC 2693206 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2
693206). PMID 18329323 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18329323).
Slagter, H. A.; Lutz, A.; Greischar, L. L.; Francis, A. D.; Nieuwenhuis, S.; Davis, J. M.;
Davidson, R. J. (2007). "Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources" (htt
ps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1865565). PLoS Biology. 5 (6): e138.
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050138 (https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0050138).
PMC 1865565 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1865565). PMID 17488185
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17488185).
Davidson, R. J. (2004). "Well-being and affective style: Neural substrates and
biobehavioural correlates" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693421).
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 359 (1449): 1395–
1411. doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1510 (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frstb.2004.1510).
PMC 1693421 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693421). PMID 15347531
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15347531).
Davidson, R. J.; Kabat-Zinn, J.; Schumacher, J.; Rosenkranz, M.; Muller, D.; Santorelli, S.;
Urbanowski, F.; Harrington, A.; Bonus, K.; Sheridan, J. F. (2003). "Alterations in Brain and
Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation". Psychosomatic Medicine. 65 (4):
564–570. doi:10.1097/01.PSY.0000077505.67574.E3 (https://doi.org/10.1097%2F01.PSY.0
000077505.67574.E3). PMID 12883106 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12883106).

Books
Goleman, Daniel; Davidson, Richard J., eds. (1 Jan 1979). Consciousness, the Brain,
States of Awareness, and Alternate Realities (https://books.google.com/?id=bfmMJguPOIIC
&lpg=PP1&dq=%22Consciousness%2C%20the%20Brain%2C%20States%20of%20Aware
ness%2C%20and%20Alternate%20Realities%22&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false). p. 228.
ISBN 978-0-89197-648-6.
Fox, Nathan A.; Davidson, Richard J., eds. (April 1, 1984). Psychobiology of Affective
Development (https://books.google.com/?id=9aKqjFG5IfUC&lpg=PP1&dq=%22Psychobiolo
gy%20of%20Affective%20Development%22&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false). Psychology
Press. p. 424. ISBN 978-0-89859-269-6.
Ekman, Paul; Davidson, Richard J., eds. (December 22, 1994). The Nature of Emotion:
Fundamental Questions. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 512. ISBN 978-0-19-
508944-8.
Davidson, Richard J., ed. (July 15, 2000). Anxiety, Depression, and Emotion. New York:
Oxford University Press. p. 306. ISBN 978-0-19-513358-5.
Davidson, Richard J.; Harrington, Anne, eds. (December 6, 2001). Visions of Compassion:
Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature. New York: Oxford
 University Press. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-19-513043-0.
Hugdahi, Kenneth; Davidson, Richard J., eds. (December 13, 2002). The Asymmetrical
Brain. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. p. 732. ISBN 978-0-262-08309-6.
Davidson, Richard J.; Begley, Sharon (December 24, 2012). The Emotional Life of Your
Brain : How its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live — and How You
Can Change Them. London: Penguin Books. p. 304. ISBN 978-0452298880.

References
1. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality,
New York: Riverhead Books, 2009, Ch. 8, § "The Dalai Lama Meets the Neurologist."
2. "Richard J Davidson" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110716140918/http://psyphz.psych.wi
sc.edu/web/personnel/RJD_CV_April_11.pdf) (PDF). April 2011. Archived from the original
(http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/personnel/RJD_CV_April_11.pdf) (PDF) on 16 July
2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
3. "Biography from Current Biography (2004)" (http://www.waunakee.k12.wi.us/hs/department
s/lmtc/frontiers/Richard_Davidson.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 25 April 2011.
4. Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY7xlNg8iy0) on YouTube
5. "RJD CV January 11" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110511131842/http://psyphz.psych.wi
sc.edu/web/personnel/davidson_bio_2011.pdf) (PDF). January 2011. Archived from the
original (http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/personnel/davidson_bio_2011.pdf) (PDF) on 11
May 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
6. "Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., Lab Director" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110614231557/ht
tp://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/personnel/director.html). Archived from the original (http://p
syphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/personnel/director.html) on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 25 April
2011.
7. Begley, Sharon (January 2, 2007). "Transforming the Emotional Mind". Train Your Mind,
Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform
Ourselves. Ballantine Books. pp. 229–242. ISBN 978-1-4000-6390-1.
8. Davidson, Richard (2013). The Emotional Life of Your Brain. New York, New York: Penguin
Group. ISBN 978-0-452-29888-0.
9. Davidson, Richard J.; Kalin, Ned H.; Shelton, Steven E. (1 September 1992). "Lateralized
effects of diazepam on frontal brain electrical asymmetries in rhesus monkeys" (https://web.
archive.org/web/20110720011419/http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/pubs/1992/Diazapam_
lateralized_effects.pdf) (PDF). Biological Psychiatry. 32 (5): 438–451. doi:10.1016/0006-
3223(92)90131-i (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0006-3223%2892%2990131-i).
PMID 1486149 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1486149). Archived from the original (htt
p://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/pubs/1992/Diazapam_lateralized_effects.pdf) (PDF) on 20
July 2011.
10. Kalin, N. H.; Shelton, S.; Davidson, R. (2004). "The Role of the Central Nucleus of the
Amygdala in Mediating Fear and Anxiety in the Primate" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
articles/PMC6729317). Journal of Neuroscience. 24 (24): 5506–5515.
doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0292-04.2004 (https://doi.org/10.1523%2FJNEUROSCI.0292-04.
2004). PMC 6729317 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6729317).
PMID 15201323 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15201323).
11. Kalin, Ned H.; Shelton, Steven E.; Davidson, Richard J. (2007). "Role of the Primate
Orbitofrontal Cortex in Mediating Anxious Temperament" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
articles/PMC4523234). Biological Psychiatry. 62 (10): 1134–9.
doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.04.004 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.biopsych.2007.04.004).
PMC 4523234 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4523234). PMID 17643397
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17643397).
12. Reiner, Peter B. (May 26, 2009). "Meditation on Demand : New research reveals how
meditation changes the brain" (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=meditation-
on-demand). Scientific American.
13. Fountain, Henry (April 1, 2005). "Study of Social Interactions Starts With a Test of Trust" (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20060621090346/http://www.hnl.bcm.tmc.edu/cache/01trust.html).
The New York Times. Archived from the original (http://www.hnl.bcm.tmc.edu/cache/01trust.
html) on June 21, 2006.
14. Foley, Ryan J. (May 15, 2010). "Scientist, Dalai Lama share research effort" (http://www.pha
yul.com/news/article.aspx?id=27305&article=Scientist%2c+Dalai+Lama+share+research+ef
fort). AP.
15. Gierland, John (February 2006). "Wired 14.02: Buddha on the Brain" (https://www.wired.co
m/wired/archive/14.02/dalai.html). Wired. 14 (2).
16. Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (November 18, 2005). "Neuroscientists Welcome Dalai Lama With
Mostly Open Arms". Science. 310 (5751): 1104. doi:10.1126/science.310.5751.1104 (http
s://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.310.5751.1104). PMID 16293731 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.
nih.gov/16293731).
17. Weil, Andrew (April 30, 2006). "Richard Davidson" (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic
le/0,9171,1187248,00.html). Time.
18. "Neuroscientist Richie Davidson Says Dalai Lama Gave Him 'a Total Wake-Up Call' that
Changed His Research Forever" (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/neuroscientist-richie-davids
on-dalai-lama-gave-total-wake/story?id=40859233).
19. Davidson, R. J.; Scherer, K. R. (2001). "Editorial". Emotion. 1: 3–4. doi:10.1037/1528-
3542.1.1.3 (https://doi.org/10.1037%2F1528-3542.1.1.3).
20. "People" (http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/about/people/). Greater Good. University of
California, Berkeley. Retrieved 25 April 2011.

External links
University of Wisconsin–Madison:
Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience (http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/)
Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging & Behavior (http://brainimaging.waisman.wisc.ed
u/)
Center for Investigating Healthy Minds (https://web.archive.org/web/20150507230519/ht
tp://www.investigatinghealthyminds.org/)
Faculty Information Page (https://web.archive.org/web/20150518075612/http://psych.wis
c.edu/faculty-davidson.htm)
A Dialogue with (https://web.archive.org/web/20080229224828/http://www.morethansound.
net/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=87) Daniel Goleman
Video of Dr. Davidson's lecture "Implications of Scientific Research on Meditation for
Spiritual Care" at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. 2007 (http://videos.med.wisc.edu/vi
deoInfo.php?videoid=936)
Video of Dr. Davidson's lecture "Cultivating compassion: Neuroscientific and behavioral
approaches" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110503054310/http://ccare.stanford.edu/conte
nt/cultivating-compassion-neuroscientific-and-behavioral-approaches-%E2%80%93-richard-
j-davidson)
Working with Mindfulness Part 1 (http://www.morethansound.net/blog/2012/11/working-with-
mindfulness-webinar-series-part-1/)
Training The Brain (http://www.morethansound.net/blog/2012/08/training-the-brain/)
Free The Mind, documentary film profiling Dr. Davidson's work (http://www.videoproject.co
m/freethemind.html/)
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