Happy Talk

‘IT was only a matter of time before science got involved in the perennial competition to discover whose imaginary friend is best.

”Bloody rain!”

And the winner is…the Buddhists.

According to the Times, brain scans of devout Buddhists found ”exceptional activity in the lobes that promote serenity and joy”.

The University of Wisconsin team scanned the brains of people who had been practising Buddhists for several years – and consistently found the ”happiness centre” highly active.

No doubt, they would get the same result if they tested dancers at an average club on a Saturday night, but the Buddhists’ joy is not chemically enhanced.

”The positive effects were seen all the time, not only during meditation, which suggests that the Buddhist way of life may affect the way their brains work,” the paper says.

”Other research has also suggested that Buddhists have lower than usual activity in the part of the brain that processes fear and anxiety.

”These findings may eventually allow researchers to develop meditation techniques as treatments for depressive illnesses.”

They also explain why Richard Gere looks so irritatingly smug in whatever film role he is in.

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Posted: 22nd, May 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink