happiness on the left

but i'm not talking about that kind of lefty. i just came across some affective research by richard davidson correlating happiness with utilization of the left hemisphere of our brains - specifically the left prefrontal cortex. check out the '03 NY times article on his work, which also mentions the meditation research i've posted on before.

the prefrontal cortex (PFC) has long been implicated in emotion modulation. activation patterns in the right PFC seem most activated under situations of threat, anxiety, and stress.

so what does this mean - can we just figure out how to quiet the right brain to find happiness? no, causation goes the other way. this just tells us which areas of the brain are being used to handle unpleasant states such as stress and anxiety. what it may do, however, is help avoid some of the survey biases that occur when simply asking someone what they feel. one crux of survey analyses is that few tell the truth, and it would be much simpler just to see it on a brain scan.

but some, unlike our lady peace, think that eating fish may be a link to happiness. a recent study correlate fish consumption to happiness, citing omega-3 fatty acids as the likely culprit. others say that boredom (and its oft-associated depressed affect) is a cleverly devised evolutionary tool, so perhaps happiness isn't the goal anyway. but as this north carolina government site says, it's all about the attitude - whatever that means (yes, tax dollars created that!). and we all know that uncle sam knows best.

Labels: neuroscience, well being