Funding Follows an Open Application and Blind
Review Process That Draws Hundreds of Innovative and
Forward-Thinking Applications From Research Teams From Around the
Globe
Recipients Include Studies From Institutions
from the United States,
Spain, The Netherlands and Australia on Subjects Ranging From Effects of
Psychedelics, Using VR for Coping with Death Anxiety, Dream
Induction for Trauma Recovery, Developing Open-Mindedness and
Constructive Dialogue, Online Therapy Combining High-Intensity
Breathing Exercises with Psychotherapy, Effects of Regular
Meditation on Health, Teaching Narrative Skills to Minority
Adolescents and Its Impact, Attentive and Supportive Listening For
Broadening Perspectives, Perceptual Differences in People with
Psychosis, and Teenagers' Awareness of Their Body Signals
LOS
ANGELES, July 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Twelve major
neuroscientific research projects related to "The Science of
Perception Box™" are being funded by Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, each
project receiving three consecutive years of funding for up to
$900,000. This latest group of
studies marks a second consecutive year that Tiny Blue Dot
Foundation is funding projects related to The Science of Perception
Box.
![Twelve major neuroscientific research projects related to “The Science of Perception Box™” are being funded by Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, each project receiving three consecutive years of funding of up to $900,000. This latest group represents a wide range of empirical investigations and marks the second consecutive year that Tiny Blue Dot Foundation is funding projects related to The Science of Perception Box. Twelve major neuroscientific research projects related to “The Science of Perception Box™” are being funded by Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, each project receiving three consecutive years of funding of up to $900,000. This latest group represents a wide range of empirical investigations and marks the second consecutive year that Tiny Blue Dot Foundation is funding projects related to The Science of Perception Box.](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2470309/TBDF_RFP_3000x2000_f2.jpg)
This year's projects include a wide-range of empirical
investigations studying the effects of psychedelics, using VR for
coping with death anxiety, dream induction for trauma recovery,
developing intervention to promote open-mindedness and constructive
dialogue, online therapy combining high-intensity breathing
exercises with psychotherapy, effects of regular meditation on
health, teaching narrative skills to minority adolescents and its
impact, attentive and supportive listening for broadening
perspectives, perceptual differences in people with psychosis, and
teenagers' awareness of their body signals.
The studies, which will be conducted by researchers from many
corners of the world including the United
States, Spain, The Netherlands and Australia, were selected from more than two
hundred applications during an open call for proposals which kicked
off in October 2023. The final
decision was made in a lengthy, double blind review process: judges
did not know the identity of the applicants and their institutions
and applicants did not know the identity of the judges. Details and
scope of the projects as well as the researchers were announced by
Elizabeth R. Koch, the Co-Founder of
Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, and Christof
Koch, the Chief Scientist at Tiny Blue Dot Foundation.
"We were again thrilled this year by the outpouring of
innovative and forward-thinking responses that we received to our
The Science of Perception Box RFP," said Christof Koch. "The dozen projects that we
decided to fund represent just a fraction of the multitude of
terrific studies submitted for consideration and underscores the
scientific community's desire to better understand how Perception
Box affects the brain with an ultimate goal of people living
happier lives."
"We at Unlikely Collaborators are blown away by the range,
creativity, and rigor of research topics proposed," said
Elizabeth R. Koch. "Each proposal
approaches the complexity of the Perception Box paradigm from a
different scientific or clinical angle, and will ultimately help a
huge range of individuals and communities reduce both
internal and external conflict to live more fulfilling,
joyful lives."
Grants are being awarded to recognized Internal Revenue Code
section 501(c)(3) research organizations located within
the United States as well as
qualifying international research institutions. The Principal
Investigators are clinical, applied, or basic science researchers
at the Applicant Institution with a MD, PhD, or an equivalent
degree.
Below is a brief summary of each of the funded projects along
with the originating organization and principal investigator.
Deep Phenotyping of Interoception in Adolescence: Making the
Imperceptible Perceptible
Institution: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Principal Investigator: Joseph
McGuire
Co-Investigator(s): Martin Lindquist, Kimberly Smith
Country: USA
Overview: This study looks at how teenagers' ability to
sense their internal body signals affects mental health problems
and tests new ways to improve this ability using virtual
reality.
Study Details
Developing and Testing a Novel Critical Open-Mindedness
Intervention to Reduce Polarization
Institution:
Stanford University
Principal Investigator: Geoffrey
Cohen
Co-Investigator(s): Brian
Knutson
Country: USA
Overview: Researchers will study the causes of
closed-mindedness and develop an intervention to promote
open-mindedness and constructive dialogue by addressing perceived
threats to personal identity.
Study Details
Does Narrative Skill Training Increase Transcendent Thinking
and Social-Emotional Wellbeing Among Minoritized
Adolescents?
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Principal Investigator: Rebecca Gotlieb
Country: USA
Overview: Researchers will test how teaching minority
adolescents narrative skills impacts their thinking and well-being,
hoping to find a sustainable way to improve these skills in diverse
youth.
Study Details
Effects of High-Quality Listening on Psychological and
Biological Well-Being Through the Expansion of the Perception
Box
Institution: University of
California, Riverside
Principal Investigator: Sonja
Lyubomirsky
Country: USA
Overview: Researchers will study how attentive and
supportive listening can improve well-being and health for both the
speaker and listener, potentially even broadening their
perspectives and creating a stronger sense of connection.
Study Details
Identifying Optimal Responses to Challenges Related to
Expanding the Perception Box in Psilocybin-Assisted
Therapy
Institution: Emory
University
Principal Investigator: Roman
Palitsky
Co-Investigator(s): Deanna Kaplan, Merlijn Olthof
(University of Groningen)
Country: USA
Overview: Researchers will study the effects of psilocybin
on adults with depression, using various methods to track changes
in behavior and psychological states to identify factors that
predict positive or negative outcomes of these perception-altering
experiences.
Study Details
Transformative Benefits of Contemplative Sleep Practices and
a Novel Pathway to Deliver Benefits to the General
Public
Institution: Northwestern
University
Principal Investigator: Ken Paller
Co-Investigator(s): Gabriela Torres Platas,
Michael Sheehy (University of Virginia)
Country: USA
Overview: This project aims to characterize ways for
individuals to learn how to use their dreaming experiences to
expand their perceptual horizons in the waking state.
Study Details
The Transformative Potential of Anesthesia-Induced Dream
States
Institution: Stanford
University
Principal Investigator: Boris Heifets
Co-Investigator(s): Laura
Hack, Patrick Purdon
Country: USA
Overview: Researchers are developing a new therapy for PTSD
using anesthesia to induce a specific type of dream that has the
potential to help people recover from trauma and improve mental
well-being.
Study Details
A Computational Psychiatry Approach to Understanding the
Brain Mechanism Underpinning Altered Perception in
Psychosis
Institution: The University of Melbourne
Principal Investigator: Marta Garrido
Co-Investigator(s): Suresh
Sundram (Monash University), Nao
Tsuchiya (Monash University), Stephen Wood
Country: Australia
Overview: Researchers will use brain scans and
decision-making tasks to determine if people with psychosis have a
different balance of prior beliefs and sensory information when
forming perceptions, which could lead to new treatments.
Study Details
Breathe Hard to Breathe Easy: High-Intensity Online
Breathwork-Assisted Psychotherapy for Social
Anxiety
Institution: Maastricht
University
Principal Investigator: Kim Kuypers
Country: The
Netherlands
Overview: This study will examine if a new type of online
therapy that combines high-intensity breathing exercises with
traditional psychotherapy can reduce social anxiety better than
slow-paced breathing exercises.
Study Details
Numadelic VR Experiences for Improving Mental Health Outcomes
in Patients Facing Life-Threatening
Illness
Institution: CiTIUS (Centro Singular de
Investigación en Tecnoloxías Intelixentes)
Principal Investigator: David Glowacki
Country: Spain
Overview: Researchers are using virtual reality to simulate
near-death experiences in order to study their potential to reduce
death anxiety and improve mental health in terminally ill patients
and their loved ones.
Study Details
Psilocybin-Assisted Neurocognitive Training for Sustained
Reduction of Negative Attention Biases
Institution: Maastricht University
Principal Investigator: Natasha
Mason
Co-Investigator(s): Bettina
Sorger
Country: The
Netherlands
Overview: This study investigates the potential of combining
psilocybin administration with attention bias modification training
(ABMT) to quickly and persistently reduce negative attention biases
in highly anxious individuals.
Study Details
When Does Meditation Expand the Perception Box? A Comparative
Longitudinal Study
Institution: The University of Melbourne
Principal Investigator: Julieta Galante
Co-Investigator(s): Cate Bailey, Ana
Dragojlovic, Deanna Kaplan
(Emory University School of Medicine),
Cullan Joyce, Nicholas Van Dam
Country: Australia
Overview: A two-year study will investigate the effects of
regular meditation practice on health and well-being in different
meditation traditions, using various self-reported measures and
"voice diaries" to assess changes in perception and
experiences.
Study Details
About Tiny Blue Dot Foundation
Tiny Blue Dot
Foundation strives to help people understand that they live in
their own unique Perception Box whose walls can be
expanded to minimize suffering, increase acceptance of self and
others, and view trauma/other challenges as opportunities for
growth. Our mission is to develop Perception
Box modification techniques that are safe, effective,
reliable, measurable, widely accessible, and easy to use.
Tiny Blue Dot Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. © 2024 Tiny
Blue Dot Foundation. All rights reserved. Perception Box™ is a
trademark of Stellar Flywheel
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