The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) and the Five Aggregates (skandha-s) of the Early Buddhism: Parallels and Differences on Understanding of Human Mind.

Authors

Sung Yong Kang, Soonjo Hwang

Published in

Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Volume 24. Issue 4. Pages 722-731. Nov 30, 2026. Epub Aug 27, 2026.

Abstract

The research domain criteria (RDoC) was launched by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to provide a framework towards development of neurobiological models and novel treatment methods for mental health disorders. Here we elucidate the possible parallels between the RDoC and the understanding of human mind by the early Buddhism, conceptualized as the five aggregates (skandha-s). They both define the function of human mind as a collective operation of de-centralized systems. The state-of-art neuroscience and the long tradition of empirical observation and practice of introspection converges on human mind as division into dimensional sub-sets that can sometime coordinate but often do not. We argue that this similarity not only brings academic interest, but also clinical and practical purposes of incorporating the theoretical framework and empirical data of the early Buddhism into the daily execution of tools originated from this tradition, including the mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs).

PMID:
42947588
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Oct 2026.

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