The “Holy Grail”: How to drive behavior change by harnessing neuroplasticity and emotions
CWRU nursing school awarded $2.35 million to study the link between the brain and health behavior change (press release):
“A five-year, $2.35 million grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research will allow researchers from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University to study how brain activity motivates the chronically ill to manage their illnesses…
“Finding a way to change brain activity and its influence on healthy behavior would be like finding the Holy Grail”…The studies will use brain imaging to discover the brain-behavior connections that influence a person’s decisions to set goals, monitor activities, reflect on their behavior and take control of their illness…
The grant funding comes at a time when major breakthroughs in the brain’s plasticity and imaging allow researchers to understand what areas of the brain are activated in emotions and decision-making, Moore said. Researchers also hope to better understand how specific health self-management activities, like information, meditation, mindfulness and yoga, “rewire” the brain and motivate people to be healthier.”
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