Marjorie Woollacott

Marjorie Woollacott is an American neuroscientist, author, and Emeritus Professor of Human Physiology at the University of Oregon.[1] She is known for her interdisciplinary research in neuroscience, motor control, rehabilitation, meditation, and consciousness studies.[2] She served as chair of the Human Physiology Department at the University of Oregon[3] and currently serving as the Research Director for the International Association for Near-Death Studies and President of the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences.[4]

Education

Woollacott graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.[5] She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Southern California in 1973 and later received a Master of Arts in Asian Studies from the University of Oregon in 2005.[6]

Academic and research career

Woollacott spent over thirty years on the faculty at the University of Oregon, where she became a member of the Institute of Neuroscience.[7] She also held joint academic appointments internationally, including positions at the University of Umeå in Sweden and the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Marseille, France.[8]

Her personal narrative of spiritual awakening is featured in the archives of the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences, which documents transcendent experiences reported by scientists.[9]

She has investigated changes in attentional performance and neural networks resulting from mental training practices such as meditation and Tai Chi.[10][11] She has studied the development of balance and attention in children, including those with motor impairments like cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. Woollacott has also examined age-related decline in balance, with a focus on improving mobility and independence among older adults and patients with neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease and stroke. Her work includes designing assessment and rehabilitation strategies to enhance postural control and attentional capacity, particularly through the use of integrative therapies.

In addition to her work in neuroscience and rehabilitation, Woollacott has conducted studies on the development of musical performance skills and the effect of internal mental states on physical performance.[12] She is the co-author, with Anne Shumway-Cook, of the widely used textbook Motor Control: Translating Research into Clinical Practice, which is now in its sixth edition as of 2021.[13]

Consciousness and Spiritual Research

Woollacott has made contributions to the emerging field of consciousness studies.[14] Her 2015 book Infinite Awareness: The Awakening of a Scientific Mind presents a synthesis of her scientific work and personal experiences with meditation and spiritual practice.[15] The book explores non-local consciousness and the interface between Western neuroscience and Eastern philosophical traditions.[16] It has received awards, including the Parapsychological Association Book Award, the Eric Hoffer Book Award, and the Nautilus Book Award.[17]

Her academic writings in this area include collaborations with scholars such as Ben Williams, with whom she co-authored the paper "Conceptual Cognition and Awakening: Insights from Non-dual Śaivism and Neuroscience.[18] This work explores the links between brain activity, language, self-awareness, and expanded states of consciousness, using insights from both neuroscience and the 10th-century Kashmiri philosopher Utpaladeva.

Woollacott's work also focuses on near-death experiences,[19] extra-sensory perception, quantum entanglement, and the role of brain activity in shaping consciousness. She advocates a top-down view of consciousness, suggesting that awareness exists beyond the physical brain and is filtered by neural mechanisms.[20] Her interests also align with panpsychism and postmaterialist models of the mind.[21]

Awards

In 2005, she was named Senior Scholar in Motor Development by the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA).[6] In 2009, she received the Distinguished Lecturer Award from the Department of Health Professions at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and was invited as a Senior Scientist to the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.[8] In 2017, she was awarded the Oen Fellow Award by Luther College in Iowa, where she delivered a public lecture and led class discussions on her book Infinite Awareness.[6]

Selected publications

Journals

Books

  • Woollacott, Marjorie; Lorimer, David; Schwartz, Gary E., eds. (2024). The playful universe: synchronicity and the nature of consciousness. Postmaterialist Sciences series. Battle Ground, WA: AAPS Press. ISBN 978-1-7354491-7-3.      

 *Woollacott, Marjorie (2015). Infinite Awareness: The Awakening of a Scientific Mind. Pim van Lommel. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-5033-8.   

  • Shumway-Cook, Anne; Woollacott, Marjorie H. (2007). Motor control: translating research into clinical practice (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-0-7817-6691-3.
  •  Woollacott, Marjorie H.; Shumway-Cook, Anne, eds. (1989). Development of posture and gait across the life span. Growth, motor development, and physical activity across the life span (1st ed.). Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-87249-629-3.
  • Woollacott, Marjorie H. (2018-08-06), "Meditation, Neurobiological Changes, Genes, and Health", Nutrition and Integrative Medicine, Boca Raton : Taylor & Francis, 2018.: CRC Press, pp. 423–437, doi:10.1201/9781315153155-17, ISBN 978-1-315-15315-5{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

References

  1. ^ Concannon, Claire (2019-03-31). "Marjorie Woollacott: Neuroscientist can explain spirituality and how it relates to the brain". RNZ. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  2. ^ Hector, Francesca (2024-05-03). "Introducing Marjorie Woollacott, Keynote Speaker at Eurotas Creative Bridges 2024". The Alef Field. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  3. ^ Erickson, Deborah. "95. Spiritual Awakening of a Scientist". AAPS Global. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  4. ^ Derisz, Ricky (2024-07-11). "The Neuroscience of Mystical Experience with Marjorie Woollacott". MindThatEgo. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  5. ^ Petrov, Nikolay (2019-02-22). "Prof Marjorie Woollacott, PhD". The Galileo Commission. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  6. ^ a b c Sciences, Open. "Marjorie Woollacott". Open Sciences – Expand the Possible. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  7. ^ "A Neuroscientist Looks at Parapsychology with Marjorie Woollacott - The Parapsychological Association". www.parapsych.org. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  8. ^ a b Erickson, Deborah. "Marjorie Woollacott". AAPS Global. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  9. ^ "Spiritual Awakenings: Scientists and Academics Describe Their Experiences". IONS. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  10. ^ Petrov, Nikolay (2021-06-12). "Imaginal Inspirations with Marjorie Woollacott". The Galileo Commission. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  11. ^ Gatts, Strawberry K.; Woollacott, Marjorie Hines (2007-02-01). "How Tai Chi improves balance: Biomechanics of recovery to a walking slip in impaired seniors". Gait & Posture. 25 (2): 205–214. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2006.03.011. ISSN 0966-6362. PMID 16672187.
  12. ^ Chen, Jessie; Woollacott, Marjorie H.; Pologe, Steven; Moore, George P. (2008). "Pitch and space maps of skilled cellists: accuracy, variability, and error correction". Experimental Brain Research. 188 (4): 493–503. doi:10.1007/s00221-008-1380-2. ISSN 0014-4819. PMID 18425504.
  13. ^ Pelger, Lex (2024-04-24). "Neuromysticism with Dr. Marjorie Woollacott". www.cannabinoidsandthepeople.whitewhalecreations.com. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  14. ^ "Does the Brain Filter out a Wider Awareness?". HuffPost. 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  15. ^ Riley, Geoffrey. "U of O Neuroscientist Considers "Infinite Awareness"". Jefferson Public Radio. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  16. ^ alicee (2015-10-09). "Marjorie Woollacott, "Infinite Awareness: The Awakening of a Scientific Mind," book event". Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS). Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  17. ^ Petrov, Nikolay (2022-03-05). "Interviews with Innocence - Marjorie Woollacott". The Galileo Commission. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  18. ^ Petrov, Nikolay (2023-01-17). "Marjorie Woollacott and Ben Williams - Lessons from the Nondual Philosophy of Shaivism and Neuroscience". The Galileo Commission. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  19. ^ Woollacott, Marjorie (2024-11-01). "Near-death experience: memory recovery during hypnosis". Explore. 20 (6) 103036. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2024.103036. ISSN 1550-8307. PMID 39096700.
  20. ^ "Our Models of Consciousness: How They Shape Our Reality". HuffPost. 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  21. ^ Stuart (2018-07-28). "Episode 17: Neuroscience, Meditation and Consciousness with Dr. Marjorie Woollacott". The Consciousness Podcast. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
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