Description:

The Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) will organize, on 20 March 2009, the symposium “Imag(in)ing the Buddhist Brain” to address recent developments in this area, among them the question: What claims do meditation traditions make, and are the results of meditation measurable?

Is brain research beginning to produce concrete evidence for something that Buddhist practitioners of meditation have maintained for centuries, namely that mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the brain and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness? Such transformed states have traditionally been understood in transcendent terms, as something outside the world of physical measurement and objective evaluation. But over the past few years, researchers working with Tibetan monks have been working toward translating those mental experiences into the scientific language of high-frequency gamma waves and brain synchrony, or coordination.

Date:

20 March 2009

Venue  

Leiden University Medical Center
Hippocratespad 21
2333 ZD, Leiden
Route description
 

Program:

09.00 am-09.45 am
REGISTRATION 

09.45 am-09.50 am
Opening by Lisa Cheng

10.00 am-11.00 am
Jonathan Silk, Leiden University
“Do Buddhists Meditate? A Very Short Introduction to Buddhist Thought and Practice”

11.00-11.15
Coffee break

11.15 am - 12.15 am
Florin Deleanu, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Tokyo, Japan
Sedi, Vidi, Vici: A Brief Introduction to Meditation in Indian Buddhism

12.15 pm – 14.00 pm
Lunch & Poster

14.00 pm - 15.00 pm
Antonino Raffone, University of Rome/University of Sunderland/RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan
"Self-regulation of brain activity for attention and awareness in Buddhist monks"

15.00 pm – 16.00 pm
Heleen Slagter, Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
“Attention training via meditation: how the brain changes”

16.00-16.15
Tea break

16.15 pm - 17.00 pm
Bernhard Hommel, Leiden University
“Summary and thoughts from a sceptic”

dr. Antonino Raffone

   

To guarantee a seat please register early. 

Participation will cost € 25,00. To be paid at the registration on March 20. This is including lunch and coffee/tea during the day.

For more information or questions regarding the symposium you can contact:
Lorenza S. Colzato
Telephone: (0)71-5273407
P.O. Box 9555,
2300 RB Leiden

For questions regarding the facilities you can contact: email Dit e-mailadres is beschermd tegen spambots. U heeft Javascript nodig om het te kunnen zien. , telephone (0)71-5264404

Call for posters  

Important dates:
- Proposal submission deadline: January 10, 2009
- Author notification: January 20, 2009
- Abstracts due: February 20, 2009

Is brain research beginning to produce concrete evidence for something that Buddhist practitioners of meditation have maintained for centuries, namely that mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the brain and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness? Such transformed states have traditionally been understood in transcendent terms, as something outside the world of physical measurement and objective evaluation. But over the past few years, researchers working with Tibetan monks have been working toward translating those mental experiences into the scientific language of high-frequency gamma waves and brain synchrony, or coordination. The Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) will organize, on 20 March 2009, the symposium “Imag(in)ing the Buddist Brain” to address recent developments in this area, among them the question: What claims do meditation traditions make, and are the results of meditation measurable?

A poster session will accompany the symposium’s scheduled lectures and discussions. It aims to provide an opportunity for symposium attendees to learn about innovative work in progress and to preview late-breaking research results. An abstract of accepted
posters will appear in a poster proceedings distributed to conference attendees. Topics of interest include: meditation and the brain and the effect of religion on cognition.

Submissions:
Researchers interested in presenting a poster should prepare an overview of their proposed poster in the form of a WORD document no more than 200 words in length. Please send your poster proposal, consisting of the poster's title, and the names, email addresses and affiliations of its authors, to: Dit e-mailadres is beschermd tegen spambots. U heeft Javascript nodig om het te kunnen zien. . Within one week of notification of acceptance, authors should send an abstract for inclusion in the poster proceedings.

Questions regarding the poster session may be sent to:
Lorenza S. Colzato
P.O. Box 9555,
2300 RB Leiden

Accommodations

In the centre of Leiden you can book following hotels:

Hotel Nieuw Minerva***           
Hotel “De Doelen Hotel”***
Golden Tulip Hotel**** Leiden Centre
Tulip Inn Leiden Centre***
Hotel Mayflower***
Mariënpoel Hotel ****
Pension Witte Singel

Outside (the centre of) Leiden you can book following hotels:

Hotel “de Beukenhof”
Tulip Inn Hotel Leiderdorp ***
Bastion Hotel Oegstgeest
Bastion Hotel Leiden/Voorschoten
Holiday Inn Hotel Leiden***
De Gouden Leeuw Hotel-Restaurant (Van der Valk)
Het Haagsche Schouw Hotel ****(Van der Valk)
Mercure Hotel Noordwijk
Ibis Hotel Leiderdorp***