The Positive Psychology Center of the University of Pennsylvania and the John Templeton Foundation have announced the recipients of the 2010 Templeton Positive Neuroscience Awards, $2.9 million given to 15 new research projects at the intersection of neuroscience and positive psychology.
The winning projects explore a range of topics including how the brain enables humans to flourish, the biological bases of altruism and the effects of positive interventions on the brain.
"Research has shown that positive emotions and interventions can bolster health, achievement and resilience and can buffer against depression and anxiety," said Martin E. P. Seligman, director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center. "And while considerable research in neuroscience has focused on disease, dysfunction and the harmful effects of stress and trauma, very little is known about the neural mechanisms of human flourishing. Creating this network of positive neuroscience researchers will change that."
The 15 winning proposals represent 24 researchers and were selected from 190 submissions. The Awards identify the winning researchers as future leaders in the new field of positive neuroscience.
The Positive Neuroscience Project was established in 2008 by Seligman with a $5.8 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Seligman founded the quickly growing field of Positive Psychology in 1998 based on the idea that what is good in life is as worthy of scientific study as what is disabling in life.
Winners were selected by the Positive Neuroscience Steering Committee, comprised of psychologists, neuroscientists and fellow researchers from Stony Brook University, Harvard University, the University of Colorado, the John Templeton Foundation, Emory University, Ohio State University and Penn.
Winning studies include:
Additional information about the Positive Neuroscience Project and Templeton Positive Neuroscience Awards is at www.posneuroscience.org .