Research Spotlights

Research Spotlights

A look at what’s going on at Stanford

Science Meets Spirituality Dalai Lama Discusses Human Experience with Neuroscientists

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eeking insight into the factors governing human emotion and perception, neuroscientists, Buddhist scholars, and the Dalai Lama himself, Tenzin Gyatso, met for a panel discussion in November 2005. Taking place on the second day of the Dalai Lama’s two-day visit to Stanford, the event was co-sponsored by the Stanford Office for Religious Life, the Aurora Forum, the Center for Buddhist Studies, and the Stanford Medical School. A central topic during the dialogue was the definition and origin of cravings. To neuroscientists, a craving can be either harmful or beneficial. For example, a craving for http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/05 pizza during an all-night study /images/20010523-3.jpg session might lead you to eat ^ The Dalai Lama gestures greeting, more than you actually need. prayer, and adoration. On the other hand, a craving for a four-hour nap following that all-nighter may give your body the sleep it needs very much. Other cravings, such as drug and alcohol

addictions, can have more potent consequences. In contrast to the neurological explanation, Buddhists only define detrimental desires, and not beneficial ones, as cravings. The neuroscientists and Buddhists agreed that, in order to reach a more complete understanding of human perception, scientific and religious authorities must ensure that they use the same terms to define the same concepts. Another point discussed was the extent to which one can voluntarily generate certain emotions. Buddhists believe that meditation can heighten one’s empathy and benevolence. This assertion has been supported by several different experiments in which scientists have studied brain activity during meditation. However, many scientists remain unconvinced that these results could be extended to combat conditions like depression; instead, they advocate more clinical approaches, such as medication. Buddhist scholar Alan Wallace and the Dalai Lama expressed strong support for scholarly exploration of meditation. Additionally, despite a petition of 500 neuroscientists who claimed that discussing medicine in a spiritual context might undermine objectivity, Stanford Medical School dean Dr. Phillip Pizzo noted that the discussion’s purpose was to discuss “boundaries [of human experience] and where they overlap and connect.” The panel affirmed that neither science nor spirituality alone encompasses the complexities of the human mind, but that each approach can richly inform the other. -Amanda Marshall

Thinking Away Pain

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^ A real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtf-MRI) scan of the brain.

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The catchphrase “think positively” may very well be more than hackneyed advice for improving one’s attitude. For Dr. Sean Mackey, assistant professor of anesthesia at the Stanford University Medical Center, it may also be a strategy to control the intensity and unpleasantness of pain. Mackey, who coauthored a study published last December in the online Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has found evidence that a new technique called neuroimaging therapy can help people who experience pain control their discomfort. Neuroimaging therapy utilizes real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtf-MRI) to gather a visual timeline of the activity of a patient’s rostral anterior cingulated cortex, the portion of the brain which processes pain. The patient is then instructed to watch these images and employ a mental tactic, such as replacing painful thoughts with pleasant ones. The technique may prove to be a viable alternative to drugs and surgery. But whether it becomes popular or not, neuroimaging therapy shows that there may be new solutions to the age-old problem of pain. -Jennifer Ladd

Research Spotlights

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Quantum Dot Imaging http://www.qdots.com/live/images/BPAE_giantin_actin.jpg

^ Three colors from the quantum dot spectrum in action.

^ Six colors of the spectrum that have been engineered.

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he last fifty years have seen leaps and bounds being made in used to provide high-resolution images of molecules within cells or the field of biological imaging. From the fine-tuning of X-ray on cell surfaces. technology to the advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Recent research has shown that the qdots can be targeted to specific positron emission tomography (PET), we now have the ability to cells simply by tagging them with DNA or antibodies. If each tag is obtain information essential for the prompt and pertinent treatment coupled with its own fluorescent color code, then a single injection of of disease. Well now it appears that qdots can be used to gain a multitude of medical imaging technology may information about a cancer; for example, make another great leap in the near the different cell-surface markers it has or future, a quantum leap to be precise. which proteins its cells express. Currently, In a 2005 review in Science doctors must perform a battery of blood magazine, Dr. Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, tests, scans and biopsies to obtain this the head of the Stanford School detailed level of knowledge about a of Medicine’s molecular imaging particular cancer. All of these techniques program, along with researchers inevitably place undue strain on patients. at UCLA, discussed the exciting The future holds exciting possibilities potential of new-generation quantum for this technology. The qdots may one dots or qdots, nano-scale crystals day be used to diagnose and treat cancers which can be injected directly into the in two-steps: first, imaging and detailed body. The qdot crystals are engineered molecular analysis of the cancer, and then from semi-conductor materials and ^ Zeolite crystals used to engineer quantum dots. targeted therapies, delivered by the qdots are able to fluoresce when stimulated themselves. Another possible use is realwith light. With their ability to fluoresce in several different colors, time imaging for surgeries where doctors could label all tumor cells in qdots offer a unique opportunity to view many different cell processes a body, and make them fluoresce so that they can be more efficiently or cell types at once. The crystals are in fact so small that they can be removed. -Erandi De Silva

Nano... satellites? Dr. Robert Twiggs, head of the Stanford Space Systems Development Lab (SSDL), has invented an incredibly small yet powerful satellite technology called CubeSat. A CubeSat is a nanosatellite, a small device that can be sent into space as a secondary payload on any large rocket. While many current satellites cost millions of dollars to maintain, the price of CubeSat missions hover just above tens of thousands of dollars. QuakeSat1, a CubeSat used to detect warning signs of earthquakes, has pre-deployment dimensions no larger than those of a shoebox and tips the scale at a few kilograms. In glaring contrast, the Hubble Space Telescope is almost 45 feet long and weighs over 12 tons. The CubeSat design program offers students at several American universities firsthand experience in building satellites while providing an environment where trial-and-error is part of the bumpy path to success. All functional CubeSat projects are sent to California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, and are then deployed on decommissioned Russian rockets. These tiny machines may one day decipher many of the mysterious workings of the larger world. -Jennifer Ladd

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^ Infrared view of Spitzer looking towards the Rho Ophiuchi nebula complex.

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