Seminar on the Science of Meditation

What is meditation? What immediate and longer-term effects does this practice have on cognition? What are the mechanisms of these effects? In this small seminar we will try to gain insight into these questions by reading and discussing recent papers drawn from psychology and neuroscience. Emphasis will be placed on careful consideration of the evidence within papers and theoretical synthesis across papers. We will also use ancient and modern studies of meditation to reflect on possibilities for the scientific study subjective experience.May be repeat for credit.