Happiness linked to size of precuneus in Brain: Kyoto University Research

Neurologists at the Kyoto University announced Friday that they've found where happiness is being processed inside the human brain, what happiness may be made of, and why a few people are happier than others.

According to the new Oxford English dictionary, happiness is simply the "state of being happy".

A few people remain happy even with limited resources while others don't enjoy even with all the facilities and wealth.

As it's known and often witnessed, the researchers also proved that happiness varies from one person to another. When these two feelings happen at once in the precuneus, you become happy.

They said this is what constitutes the subjective experience of being "happy".

Doctors are still unclear what the neural mechanism behind happiness occurring is though.

Research participants were asked about their happiness, and their brains were examined using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition to MRI scans, research participants also took a survey with questions about their happiness, like how happy they are, how satisfied they are with their lives, and how intensely they feel emotions.

Analysis of the findings showed that the participants with higher scores on the surveys had far more grey matter mass (which contains neuronal cell bodies) in the precuneus, a part of the brain's superior parietal lobule that is responsible for episodic memory, aspects of consciousness, and reflections upon the self. Those who feel sadness less intensely, feel happiness more intensely and have a larger precuneus and are thus able to find more meaning in life.

Dr Wataru Sato, a cognitive psychologist at Kyoto University, said: 'Over history, many eminent scholars like Aristotle have contemplated what happiness is.

"I am very happy that we now know more about what it means to be happy", Sato noted. Those who have a larger precuneus have more neurons in that portion of their brain, and have a better ability to process information in that part of their brains.

The Berkeley Greater Good Science Center has more about happiness.

Credit: Featured image of a happy man while surfing the web is via the Big Stock Photo (Shutterstock).

Study leader Wataru Sato believes understanding that mechanism could help scientists quantify the levels of happiness objectively. Sato is hopeful about the implications this has for happiness training.

He added, "Several studies have shown that meditation increases grey matter mas in the precuneus".