How do we thrive in our behaviors and experiences? Positive neuroscience research illuminates the brain mechanisms that enable human flourishing. Supported by the John Templeton Foundation's Positive Neuroscience Project, which Martin E. P. Seligman established in 2008, Positive Neuroscience provides an intersection between neuroscience and positive psychology.In this edited volume, leading researchers describe the neuroscience of social bonding, altruism, and the capacities for resilience and creativity. Part I (Social Bonds) describes the mechanisms that enable humans to connect with one another. Part II (Altruism) focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying the human ability and willingness to confer costly benefits on others. Part III (Resilience and Creativity) examines the mechanisms by which human brains overcome adversity, create, and discover. Specific topics include: a newly discovered nerve type that appears to be specialized for emotional communication; the effects of parenting on the male brain; how human altruism differs from that of other primates; the neural features of extraordinary altruists who have donated kidneys to strangers; and distinctive patterns of brain wiring that endow some people with exceptional musical abilities. Accessible to a broad academic audience, from advanced undergraduates to senior scholars, these subjects have generated a fascinating and highly convergent set of ideas and results, shaping our understanding of human nature.

ContributorsIntroducing Positive NeuroscienceJoshua D. Greene and India MorrisonPart I: Social Bonds1. Affective and Social TouchIndia Morrison2. The Neural Correlates of Individual Variation in Paternal NurturanceJames K. Rilling and Jennifer Mascaro3. Toward a Neuroscience of Social ResonanceThalia Wheatley and Beau SieversPart II: Altruism4. Prosociality as a form of reward-seekingJamil Zaki and Jason Mitchell5. Is Human Prosocial Behavior Unique?: Insights and New Questions from Non-Human PrimatesLindsey Drayton and Laurie Santos6. When Feeling and Doing Diverge: Neural and physiological correlates of the empathy-altruism divideTony W. Buchanan and Stephanie D. Preston7. Amygdala Tuning Toward Self and OtherVincent Man, Daniel L. Ames, Alexander Todorov, and William A. Cunningham8. Towards a Neuroscience of Compassion: A brain systems-based model and research agendaYoni K. Ashar, Jessica Andrews-Hanna, Tor D. Wager, and Sona Dimidjian9. Extraordinary Altruism: A Cognitive Neuroscience PerspectiveAbigail MarshPart III: Resilience and Creativity10. Increasing Positive Emotion in Negative Contexts: Emotional Consequences, Neural Correlates, and Implications for ResilienceKateri McRae and Iris Mauss11. Could Meditation Modulate the Neurobiology of Learning Not to Fear?Britta H?lzel, Sara W. Lazar, and Mohammed Milad12. The Role of Brain Connectivity in Musical ExperiencePsyche Loui13. The Function of Positive Emotions in ExplorationHans Melo and Adam AndersonIndex