5th Anniversary Issue • The Medicine of the Moment APRIL 2018 • volume 6, number 1 number 6, volume • + mindful.org science from our June 2018 issue THE MAGNIFICENT WILD MYSTERIOUS CONNECTED AND INTERCONNECTED BRAIN Our brain is like a wild, raging electrical storm that wondrously enables us to make our way. Yet a lot of mindfulness literature makes it sound like a very simple machine. Two leading neuroscientists suggest better ways to think and talk about the brain and the mind. Illustrations by Aaron Piland 42 mindful June 2018 for more stories like this visit mindful.org science FOR SOME TIME AT MINDFUL, We are in the middle of an epidemic We are in the middle of an epidemic spread we’ve been concerned that discus- spread of BS about the brain. Some- thing new comes up just about every of BS about the brain. Something new sions of the brain—particularly in week that grossly oversimplifies both what science currently knows about comes up just about every week that grossly the context of mindfulness and the brain and how the brain might meditation—have become sim- actually work. Trainers and coaches oversimplifies both what science currently and keynote speakers frequently plified to the point of distorting make extravagant claims about “brain knows about the brain and how the brain the truth. They often present the change,” “growing the brain,” or “adding gray matter.” Forbes recently might actually work. brain as a set of building blocks or published “6 Brain-Based Leader- Lincoln Logs, each with its own ship Game-Changers for 2018,” by an author who writes about “leveraging function. The goal of meditation neuroscience to create remarkable f leadership.” The first diagram illus- in this model is to strengthen trates the reptilian brain, the mam- certain parts and suppress others. malian brain, and the supposed new- that you can use science to rewire Amishi Jha, PhD, is associate pro- While Saron and Jha are separated est part of the brain, the neocortex, your brain. Among its claims: You can fessor of psychology and the founder by a continent and different research When we asked neuroscientists where “meaning is made.” A quick “overcome PTSD without medication and head of the Jha Lab at the Univer- goals, they see eye-to-eye on the need doing actual research about these internet search will let you know that by strengthening neural circuits in sity of Miami. Her pioneering work, to be cautious in making assertions this hypothesis, known as the Triune Brain 3.0, making your emotional much of it funded by the Department about long-term alterations to the notions, the answer ranged from Brain, “is no longer espoused by the immune system stronger.” of Defense and carried out with the brain. They collaborated with a few “that’s very, very simplistic” to majority of comparative neuroscien- Let’s be clear. This is not science. military, students, and athletes, shows others on an important paper that tists in the post-2000 era.” It’s been It is snake oil. how mindfulness can protect atten- provided a preliminary model for “that’s nonsense.” debunked for almost two decades. The problem, scientists and tion and working memory. The lab distinguishing a variety of mental A newsstand publication called science educators point out, is not is also working on how to scale up factors involved in a range of medita- Mindfulness Made Simple contains a that people are being coached and mindfulness for larger populations tion practices. ABOUT THE AUTHOR two-page spread on “How Mindful- coaxed to “use their brains better.” and make its effects long-lasting. She Our several conversations lasted Barry Boyce is Editor-in-Chief of Mindful and ness Physically Changes Your Brain” The problem is using pseudo-science is working to find accessible train- many hours and ranged far and wide. Mindful.org. He is also author of The Mindfulness that points to mindfulness causing as evidence for the effectiveness of ing that can be broadly adopted by Here are some of the highlights of our Revolution, an anthology of applied mindfulness growth in the presumed good parts a practice or to present outmoded high-performance and high-demand exploration of brain and mind. instructions from leading teachers and experts. of the brain and shrinkage in the models of the brain and mental expe- groups, including first responders, bad parts. It takes some preliminary rience. These models are often taught police, and firefighters. research out of all context and states to children in school, who go home Cliff Saron, PhD, is a researcher Barry Boyce it pretty much as fact. Any honest and tell mommy and daddy that the at the Center for Mind and Brain and Editor-in-Chief neuroscientist will tell you that we amygdala is bad and the prefrontal director of the Saron Lab at the Univer- simply do not know this much about cortex is good. Is it fair to reduce sity of California, Davis. He is known how the brain is affected by mindful- something so wondrous as the brain for directing the Shamatha Project, a ness, since we don’t even have a single to a couple of parts—even if this multiyear investigation of long-term definition of what mindfulness means. mythology helps children to notice intensive meditation. Findings so far And what we feel we know today will their reactivity and calm down? indicate that the practice sharpens and be eclipsed by findings after our life- To delve into the state of the brain sustains attention, enhances well-being time. Humbleness is the watchword science surrounding meditation, we and empathy, and improves physiologi- when it comes to assertions about invited two neuroscientists to join cal markers of health. Saron is inter- how the brain and the mind work. in conversation with Mindful about ested in not just what the brain is doing A book from a major publisher sells how to effectively talk about the when attending to a task, but what’s itself as “Mind-Hacker’s Guide to brain when presenting mindfulness happening on a moment-by-moment Shifting into Brain 3.0.” It promises and meditation. basis as we construct reality. for more44 stories mindful like June 2018this visit mindful.org for more stories likeJune this 2018 visit mindful mindful.org 45 science science BARRY BOYCE: Many mindfulness parts of the cortex. Huge amounts teachers like to use a model of the of the brain are involved in even the brain that pits the so-called emo- simplest of tasks. tional center deep inside the brain, the amgydala, against the reason- Barry Boyce: These models are ing center of the brain up front, the meant to provide children with a prefrontal cortex, which carries out way to think about emotionality as a our “executive function.” In the battle natural brain process—to help them between these two, mindfulness is depersonalize it and find calm and on the side of the executive function, composure. Is it such a problem if it’s coming in to help when the amygdala a cartoon-like oversimplification? is out of control. How do you feel about this characterization? Jha: It’s an open question whether using a model of brain function actu- Amishi Jha: I understand the good ally helps them calm down. These intentions of smart and kind-hearted kinds of models are not limited to people when they use overly simple presentations to children. I’ve heard models of the brain in an attempt to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduc- make brain functions broadly acces- tion teachers talk about the reptilian sible, even to small children. They’re brain needing to be overcome by the trying to help people understand modern-day frontal lobes. That’s the something about problems they’re “triune brain hypothesis”—a 1960s- encountering with their emotions or era story of a battle between the older their attention. I’m trying to do the and newer brain not widely accepted same thing when I work with first in neuroscience today. It’s not part of responders or soldiers. No one wants the curriculum for MBSR, but it’s a to make costly mistakes. kind of freelancing that people do. However, we can do better than We don’t really have any evidence using a misleading model that implies that you would get any less benefit that a part of the brain, the amygdala, if you didn’t use a model of the brain misbehaves or “goes bad,” causing us in teaching people meditation. Why to freak out, and that to control this mislead if you don’t need to? The mod- reactivity—fear, anxiety, inappropriate ular view of the brain—with a specific behavior—we need to use the “good” function separately housed within a part of the brain up front that comes particular chunk of the cortex—is like in and tamps down the bad guy. a holdover from phrenology, when people thought brain functions were Cliff Saron: The “good brain, bad tied to bumps on the skull—a bumpy brain” idea gets things off on the forehead meant someone was more wrong foot completely. You can err on intelligent. We can do better than this. the side of complexity or simplicity. If you’re trying to simplify things, you Barry Boyce: Why does it matter if want to do it in such a way that you’re we’re using notions of the brain that still on the side of accuracy. Amishi make it easier for us to understand is exemplary at getting to the essence what this thing inside of us is doing? while still being truthful, using a model that scales up to something Saron: As someone who tries to think that represents a better understand- and teach carefully about the brain, ing.