Module 1: The Neuroscience of Mindfulness and Well-Being
Richard J. Davidson, PhD · 1.5 hrs contact hours
Davidson's four-pillar framework (awareness, connection, insight, purpose); neuroplasticity, attention regulation, and resilience as rapid recovery from adversity.
Learning objectives — you will be better able to:
- Identify the four core dimensions of well-being (awareness, connection, insight, and purpose) and describe how each dimension relates to neuroplasticity and contemplative practice.
- Explain the concept of resilience as a form of ‘rapid recovery from adversity’ and describe associated neuroscience research findings demonstrating differential recovery patterns in meditation practitioners.
Module 2: Attention, Neuroplasticity & the Cultivation of Well-Being
Rick Hanson, PhD · 2 hrs contact hours
Default mode network, interoception, and the insula; positive neuroplasticity and how repeated mental states convert into lasting traits.
Learning objectives — you will be better able to:
- Describe how mindfulness practice reduces activity in brain regions associated with mind-wandering, rumination, and self-focused thinking, including the default mode network.
- Explain the process of positive neuroplasticity, including how deliberately cultivating beneficial mental states through repeated practice has been linked to lasting changes in neural structure and function through state-to-trait learning.
Module 3: The Process of Selfing: Neuroscience & the Construction of Identity
Judson Brewer, MD, PhD · 1.75 hrs contact hours
fMRI and real-time neurofeedback findings on self-referential processing; dependent origination and open/closed experiential states.
Learning objectives — you will be better able to:
- Describe the current understanding on neurological mechanisms by which the brain constructs and maintains a sense of self — including the roles of the DMN, mPFC, and PCC — and explain how mindfulness practice can reduce activation in these self-referential networks.
- Apply the framework of dependent origination and open/closed experiential states to identify how craving, clinging, and behavioral reinforcement contribute to habitual identity formation in clinical and educational contexts.
Module 4: Mindful Eating: Neuroscience & Awareness-Based Interventions
Judson Brewer, MD, PhD · 1.75 hrs contact hours
Homeostatic vs. hedonic hunger, the dopamine reward loop, and a three-step framework for working with eating habits without relying on willpower.
Learning objectives — you will be better able to:
- Explain the neuroscience of eating behavior, including the distinction between homeostatic and hedonic hunger, the role of dopamine posited in reinforcement learning, and why willpower-based approaches are often found to be ineffective.
- Apply a three-step awareness-based framework for addressing eating habits: mapping habit loops, updating reward value through mindful attention, and cultivating curiosity as an alternative to reactive eating.
Module 5: Unwinding Anxiety: Habit Loops & Reward-Based Learning
Judson Brewer, MD, PhD · 2.5 hrs contact hours
Anxiety as a habit loop; the Rescorla-Wagner prediction error model; cultivating curiosity and kind awareness as a 'bigger, better offer.'
Learning objectives — you will be better able to:
- Explain how anxiety operates as a habit loop through reward-based learning mechanisms in the brain.
- Apply a three-step awareness-based framework for working with anxiety in professional practice.