Happiness Happens In Brain, New Study Suggests

It's true that different people have different definition of happiness. For some happiness is earning a lot of money, while for some it is a smile on their loved ones' face. However, from neurological perspective, people, who are happy, have a large precuneus, a new study suggests.

According to a new research conducted by a team of Japanese scientists, happiness is located in the precuneus region of the parietal lobe, a region of the brain known to be associated with consciousness, reported EurekAlert.

"Several studies show that meditation increases grey matter mass in the precuneus," said study lead author Wataru Sato from Kyoto University in Japan.

 "This new insight on where happiness happens in the brain will be useful for developing happiness programs based on scientific research."

For the purpose of the study, the research team scanned the brains of participants with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The participants then took a survey that asked how happy they are generally, how intensely they feel emotions, and how satisfied they are with their lives.

 The analysis revealed that happiness is a combination of happy emotions and satisfaction of life coming together in the precuneus, reported NYSEPost.

 It was found that participants who scored higher on the happiness surveys had more grey matter mass in the precuneus. This means people who feel happiness more intensely, feel sadness less intensely, and are more able to find meaning in life have a larger precuneus.

"Over history, many eminent scholars like Aristotle have contemplated what happiness is," lead author Wataru Sato said.

"I'm very happy that we now know more about what it means to be happy."

The neural mechanism behind how happiness emerges, however, remained unclear. Sato claims that understanding the happiness mechanism will be a huge asset for quantifying levels of happiness objectively.

The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports.