Mental Health

Scientists Reveal the Parts of the Brain Responsible for Happiness

By Kanika Gupta | Update Date: Nov 25, 2015 03:45 PM EST

Have you met some people who seem happier than the others? The team of Japanese scientists at the University of Kyoto seemed to have found the answer, says a report on ctvnews.ca. Waturu Sato and his researchers began studying the part of brain that is related to happiness in a person. Happiness, by these researchers, have been defined as subjective that varies from one person to another in terms of intensity. What makes you ecstatic may only elicit a basic response from another person. As per the research, when the positive emotions combined with satisfaction, it impacted a part of brain called precuneus, positioned in the parietal lobe. Until this research, neurologists had not been able to determine exactly which parts of the brain played a role in making one feel happy.

The get the answer, the neuroscientists on the team studied brains of 51 participants and tried to gage their happiness and emotions, looking at not just emotional but also cognitive elements. The participants had to fill out a questionnaire which the team of researchers later evaluated to determine their happiness quotient and the intensity of their emotions. As per the findings, the ones who got the best happiness score had higher amount of grey matter in the precuneus than the ones who didn't score too well. The team concluded that the ones who had larger precuneus felt emotions more intensely and the positive way. They are also happier than the ones who have smaller precuneus. The former group also didn't feel the hurt or pain in the same intensity as the latter. According to Dr. Sato, the best way to increase the size of your precuneus is through meditation that tends to increase the grey matter and is where the happiness centre is located, reported Morning Ticker.

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