In March 2000, some of the USA’s top psychologists and neuroscientists came to India for a research collaboration – with the Dalai Lama. They wanted to find ways in which people can better control their destructive emotions. Some results of that research have begun to emerge.
Functional MRI and advanced EEG analysis has revealed that the brain has a ‘set point’ for moods. The analysis showed that the right prefrontal cortex was most active when people are anxious, angry or depressed. These areas are quiet, and the left prefrontal cortex lights up, when people are upbeat. Some people have more left-brain activity, and some depressed types, right. The ‘happiest’ brain seen in the study was a Tibetan lama’s.
New York Times