RINED at ICEM 2026: from the inner environment to environmental responsibility

From 17 to 19 September 2026, Rome hosted the International Conference on Environmental Mindfulness (ICEM) at UNINT – Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma. The international scientific forum,  led by Luca Simione, brought together researchers and practitioners working across environmental psychology, mindfulness, neuropsychology and contemplative studies, with a shared interest in understanding how inner transformation may contribute to more sustainable ways of relating to ourselves, others and the environment.

RINED – Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics of Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti contributed to the conference with a central role in the scientific programme. Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan, Director of RINED and member of the ICEM 2026 Scientific Committee, chaired and led the symposium “Creating an Internal Mindful Environment: From Biological Plasticity to Environmental Responsibility and Global HealthIn the vast and multifaceted landscape of global health, the... More.”

At the heart of the symposium was a fundamental question: can transforming our internal environment change the way we relate to the world beyond the self?

Exploring the connection between inner and outer environments

From 17 to 19 September 2026, Rome hosted the International Conference on Environmental Mindfulness (ICEM) at UNINT – Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma. The international scientific forum,  led by Luca Simione, brought together researchers and practitioners working across environmental psychology, mindfulness, neuropsychology and contemplative studies, with a shared interest in understanding how inner transformation may contribute to more sustainable ways of relating to ourselves, others and the environment.

RINED – Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics of Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti contributed to the conference with a central role in the scientific programme. Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan, Director of RINED and member of the ICEM 2026 Scientific Committee, chaired and led the symposium “Creating an Internal Mindful Environment: From Biological Plasticity to Environmental Responsibility and Global Health.”

At the heart of the symposium was a fundamental question: can transforming our internal environment change the way we relate to the world beyond the self?

From biological plasticity to environmental responsibility

The symposium explored a possible trajectory connecting biological plasticity and brain dynamics with flexibility in self-related processes, connectedness and environmental responsibility.

The opening contribution, “A Neuroecological Framework for Environmental Mindfulness: Beyond the Self,” was presented by Patrizio Paoletti and Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan. Their contribution presented the Sphere Model of Consciousness and research conducted at RINED on Quadrato Motor Training (QMT).

The presentation examined how changes in neural and biological processes may be associated with greater flexibility in the way individuals experience themselves and their relationship with the surrounding world. This perspective connected neuroscienceThe human brain is one of the most complex and fascinating s... More, consciousness studies and environmental mindfulness, moving from the transformation of the inner environment towards questions of interconnectedness, collective care and responsibility.

The symposium also brought together researchers from different scientific fields. Caterina La Porta and colleagues from the University of Milan and the Center for Complexity & Biosystems presented research on the electrophysiology and brain dynamics associated with mindful movement. Kevin Rozario and colleagues from Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University explored psychedelic experiences, nature and transcendent connectedness. Yair Dor-Ziderman and colleagues from the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center at the University of Haifa addressed meditationThere are many ways to define meditation, but perhaps the si... More, self-dissolution, mortality acceptance and environmental concern.

A Global Health perspective

The symposium placed these different contributions within a broader Global Health perspective.

The discussion connected different levels of investigation, from biological plasticity and brain dynamics to self-transcendence, nature connectedness and environmental responsibility.

From this perspective, human health cannot be considered in isolation from the social and environmental contexts in which people live. Individual well-being, social experience and environmental conditions are continuously interconnected.

The dialogueDialogue: When Words Become Relationship Dialogue is one of ... More at ICEM 2026 therefore created an interdisciplinary space for examining how research on consciousness and contemplative practices may contribute to a broader understanding of the relationship between human health, environmental well-being and sustainability.

Beyond the square: movement meditation and the environment

Alongside its role in the symposium, RINED presented a further study specifically exploring the relationship between movement meditation and the surrounding environment.

The study “Beyond the Square: Exploring Expanded Environments through Movement Meditation,” presented by Ludovica Ortame, Leonardo Lamas, Lucia Barbero and Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan, compared traditional Quadrato Motor Training (QMT) with Expanded Quadrato Motor Training (QMT-E).

In QMT-E, participants moved through a larger and more complex spatial environment, introducing a different relationship between movement, body awareness and surrounding space.

The study involved 46 participants, who practiced either traditional QMT or QMT-E over a period of one month. Participants were assessed before and after the intervention through measures of affect, sleep quality, subjective time and EEG, together with daily experiential and sleep diaries.

While the research is still in progress, the findings presented at ICEM showed reduced perceived time pressure and improved sleep quality following the practice. These findings highlighted the potential of expanded movement meditation to support psychological well-being while opening new questions about the relationship between self, body and environment.

From the inner environment to the world around us

The contributions presented by RINED at ICEM 2026 highlighted a common thread across different lines of research: the possibility of understanding environmental mindfulness not only as a way of changing how people relate to the external environment, but also as a process that begins with the internal environment.

From the flexibility of self-related processes to the experience of space through movement, the research presented in Rome explored how changes in consciousness, body awareness and neural plasticity may influence the way individuals experience their relationship with others and with the world around them.

The conference provided RINED with an opportunity to contribute to an emerging international research dialogue connecting neuroscience, consciousness, contemplative practices, environmental psychology and Global Health.

From the inner environment to the environment we share, RINED’s contribution at ICEM 2026 explored new perspectives on human well-being, interconnectedness and environmental responsibility.

Discover ICEM 2026