Richard Davidson
Encyclopedia
Richard J. Davidson is professor of Psychology
and Psychiatry
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
.
, Richard "Richie" Davidson attended Midwood High School
. Whilst there, between 1968–1971, he worked as a summer research assistant in the sleep laboratory at nearby Maimonides Medical Center
cleaning electrodes that had been affixed to subjects' bodies for sleep studies
.
Davidson went on to receive his B.A. in Psychology from NYU (Heights)
in 1972. He chose to study at Harvard University
to work with Daniel Goleman
and Gary Schwartz
and gained his Ph.D. in Personality, Psychopathology, and Psychophysiology there in 1976. At Harvard, Davidson was mentored by David C. McClelland
and was also influenced by Norman Geschwind
and Walle J. H. Nauta
.
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
.
In 1984 he joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he has since remained. He is currently Director for the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience, Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, and the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds,
and functional magnetic resonance imaging
to make inferences about patterns of regional brain function. A major focus of his current work is on interactions between prefrontal cortex
and the amygdala
in the regulation of emotion in both normal subjects and patients with affective and anxiety disorders.
Dr. Davidson hopes to help get out the message that based on what we know about the plasticity of the brain, we can think of things like happiness and compassion as skills that are no different from learning to play a musical instrument, or training in golf or tennis. Happiness, like any skill, requires practice and time but because we know that the brain is built to change in response to mental training, it is possible to train a mind to be happy.
Dr. 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.”
In 2004 the same group published further results the role of the central nucleus of the amygdala in mediating fear and anxiety in the primate. 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."
Dr. Davidson's work with human subjects has attracted the attention of both scientific and popular press, and has been covered by Scientific American
and The New York Times
.
, some of his work involves research on the brain as it relates to meditation
. 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 speak at a 2005 neuroscience conference, dozens of researchers signed a petition in protest.
.
Time
magazine named Dr. Davidson one of the world's top 100 most influential people in a 2006 issue.
, of the American Psychological Association
journal; Emotion
.
Davidson is currently on the Editorial Board of Greater Good Magazine, published by the Greater Good Science Center
of the University of California, Berkeley
. Dr. Davidson's contributions include the interpretation of scientific research into the roots of compassion, altruism, and peaceful human relationships.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
.
Early life and Education
Born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Richard "Richie" Davidson attended Midwood High School
Midwood High School
Midwood High School, at Brooklyn College, is a public, urban, co-ed high school located on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City.Midwood High School was for many years the recipient of multiple accolades because of its competitive educational programs and for the achievements of its students...
. Whilst there, between 1968–1971, he worked as a summer research assistant in the sleep laboratory at nearby Maimonides Medical Center
Maimonides Medical Center
Maimonides Medical Center is a non-profit, non-sectarian hospital located in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Maimonides is both a treatment facility and academic medical center with 705 beds, and more than 70 primary care and sub-specialty programs...
cleaning electrodes that had been affixed to subjects' bodies for sleep studies
Polysomnography
Polysomnography , also known as a sleep study, is a multi-parametric test used in the study of sleep and as a diagnostic tool in sleep medicine. The test result is called a polysomnogram, also abbreviated PSG...
.
Davidson went on to receive his B.A. in Psychology from NYU (Heights)
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1972. He chose to study at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
to work with Daniel Goleman
Daniel Goleman
Daniel Jay Goleman is an author, psychologist, and science journalist. For twelve years, he wrote for The New York Times, specializing in psychology and brain sciences. He is the author of more than 10 books on psychology, education, science, and leadership.-Life:Goleman was born in Stockton,...
and Gary Schwartz
Gary Schwartz
Gary E. Schwartz, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona best known for controversial experiments with mediums.-Biography:...
and gained his Ph.D. in Personality, Psychopathology, and Psychophysiology there in 1976. At Harvard, Davidson was mentored by David C. McClelland
David McClelland
David C. McClelland was an American psychological theorist. Noted for his work on need theory, he published a number of works from the 1950s until the 1990s and developed new scoring systems for the Thematic Apperception Test and its descendants...
and was also influenced by Norman Geschwind
Norman Geschwind
Norman Geschwind pioneered behavioral neurology in America. He is best known for his exploration of behavioral neurology through disconnection models based on lesion analysis.- Early life :...
and Walle J. H. Nauta
Walle Nauta
Dr. Walle J. H. Nauta was a leading neuroscientist. Nauta was born in 1916 in Medan, Dutch East Indies. He was an Institute Professor at MIT....
.
Career
In 1976 Davidson took a teaching post at the State University of New York at PurchaseState University of New York at Purchase
Purchase College, State University of New York, is a public four-year college located in Purchase, New York, United States. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York system...
where he subsequently held several posts including research consultancies at the Department of Pediatrics, Infant Laboratory, Roosevelt Hospital
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging
National Institute on Aging
The National Institute on Aging ' is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health , located in Baltimore, Maryland.The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life...
, NIH
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
.
In 1984 he joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he has since remained. He is currently Director for the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience, Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, and the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds,
Research
Davidson's research is focused on cortical and subcortical substrates of emotion and affective disorders, including depression and anxiety. Participants in imaging experiments include normal adults and young children, and those with, or at risk for, affective and anxiety disorders. Techniques used include quantitative electrophysiology, positron emission tomographyPositron emission tomography
Positron emission tomography is nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body. The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide , which is introduced into the body on a...
and functional magnetic resonance imaging
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI is a type of specialized MRI scan used to measure the hemodynamic response related to neural activity in the brain or spinal cord of humans or other animals. It is one of the most recently developed forms of neuroimaging...
to make inferences about patterns of regional brain function. A major focus of his current work is on interactions between prefrontal cortex
Prefrontal cortex
The prefrontal cortex is the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain, lying in front of the motor and premotor areas.This brain region has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behaviors, personality expression, decision making and moderating correct social behavior...
and the amygdala
Amygdala
The ' are almond-shaped groups of nuclei located deep within the medial temporal lobes of the brain in complex vertebrates, including humans. Shown in research to perform a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions, the amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system.-...
in the regulation of emotion in both normal subjects and patients with affective and anxiety disorders.
Dr. Davidson hopes to help get out the message that based on what we know about the plasticity of the brain, we can think of things like happiness and compassion as skills that are no different from learning to play a musical instrument, or training in golf or tennis. Happiness, like any skill, requires practice and time but because we know that the brain is built to change in response to mental training, it is possible to train a mind to be happy.
Dr. 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
Diazepam
Diazepam , first marketed as Valium by Hoffmann-La Roche is a benzodiazepine drug. Diazepam is also marketed in Australia as Antenex. It is commonly used for treating anxiety, insomnia, seizures including status epilepticus, muscle spasms , restless legs syndrome, alcohol withdrawal,...
on frontal brain electrical asymmetries in rhesus monkeys.”
In 2004 the same group published further results the role of the central nucleus of the amygdala in mediating fear and anxiety in the primate. 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."
Dr. Davidson's work with human subjects has attracted the attention of both scientific and popular press, and has been covered by Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Research with the Dalai Lama
A longtime friend of the 14th Dalai Lama14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
, some of his work involves research on the brain as it relates to meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
. 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 speak at a 2005 neuroscience conference, dozens of researchers signed a petition in protest.
Awards and honors
In 2000, Davidson received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, for lifetime achievement from the American Psychological AssociationAmerican Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
.
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine named Dr. Davidson one of the world's top 100 most influential people in a 2006 issue.
Publications
Davidson has published many papers, chapter articles and edited 13 books. In 2001 he was the founding co-editor, with Klaus SchererKlaus Scherer
Klaus Scherer is Professor of Psychology and director of the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences in Geneva. He is a specialist in the psychology of emotion....
, of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
journal; Emotion
Emotion (journal)
Emotion is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, which, as its title states, publishes articles relating to the study of emotion. It is one of several psychology journals published by the American Psychological Association. It was established by founding co-editors-in-chief Richard Davidson and Klaus...
.
Davidson is currently on the Editorial Board of Greater Good Magazine, published by the Greater Good Science Center
Greater Good Science Center
The Greater Good Science Center, located at the University of California, Berkeley is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the scientific understanding of happy and compassionate individuals, strong social bonds, and altruistic behavior. By studying individuals and their relationships,...
of the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Dr. Davidson's contributions include the interpretation of scientific research into the roots of compassion, altruism, and peaceful human relationships.
External links
- University of Wisconsin–Madison:
- A Dialogue with Daniel GolemanDaniel GolemanDaniel Jay Goleman is an author, psychologist, and science journalist. For twelve years, he wrote for The New York Times, specializing in psychology and brain sciences. He is the author of more than 10 books on psychology, education, science, and leadership.-Life:Goleman was born in Stockton,...
- Video of Dr. Davidson's lecture "Implications of Scientific Research on Meditation for Spiritual Care" at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. 2007
- Video of Dr. Davidson's lecture "Cultivating compassion: Neuroscientific and behavioral approaches"