Research "motivated" by some of Francisco "ideas": Cliff Saron

Clifford Saron, PhD 

Associate Research Scientist, Center for Mind and Brain Office: 202 Cousteau Pl., Suite 250, Room 268 Telephone: 415-307-9757

Email:

cdsaron

@

ucdavis.edu

My work centers on two broad areas. The first is focused on the training of attention and emotion regulation through contemplative practice. Our main project here is known as “The Shamatha Project” a large-scale collaborative and multimethod longitudinal study of the effects of intensive meditation training. We use qualitative, self-report, behavioral, electrophysiological, and biochemical measures to begin to elucidate the many levels of personal and physiological change that accompany such training. My second research area concerns sensory processing, multisensory integration, and interhemispheric communication in children with autism spectrum disorders. In collaboration with colleagues at the CMB and M.I.N.D. Institute we are using sensitive behavioral measures, eye tracking, and dense channel array event-related potentials to investigate possible deficits in these low-level processes which likely contribute to the complex phenotype of autism.