Zazen is one of several meditation technics that pretends to reach calmness, reducing interference, and controlling awareness practiced by many people in the world. Zazen practitioners claim that a natural sense of wellbeing, spontaneous joy and self-fulfilling is achieved with its practice. Neuroscientific evidence shows that important modifications in the neuronal electric activity with compromise of several brain structures has been observed, especially those that are involved in modulation of attention. Our laboratory was interested to study the possible behavioural effects of a short time zazen practice to a group of secondary students of public or private high schools, with no previous training in any meditation technics. Two groups, 15-17 years old coursing the 4th or 5th year of their secondary study, one receiving zazen training (n = 31), and the other one recreation activities (n = 45) were selected. All subjects were tested with the Tower of London, Tower of Hanoi, Wisconsin Card Sorting and Stroop test to evaluate the cognitive abilities, at the beginning of the experiment (t₀) and at the end of the experiment (t₁, about 3 months later). Results showed that in the Tower of London and Tower of Hanoi, zazen group displayed significant less movements to solve the task, compared to Control. No differences were found between both groups in solving the Wisconsin Card Sorting test, but in the Stroop test zazen group was superior to Control in making significant less mistakes during solving the task. Results are compatible with a positive effect of zazen training in behavioural abilities of attention and planning strategies in secondary students.

In studies from this laboratory, the chronic administration of ZnTe during pregnancy, lactation, and prepuberal stages of litter (F₁ generation) modified the behavioral patterns of motivated exploration, lateralized exploration, social activity, and survival responses of maturing rats. To determine whether these affected behaviors would extend to the next generation, F₁ litter rats previously exposed to tellurium (Te) up to 30-day-old were left at rest with no further treatment up to 90-day-old. Then, F₁ female rats were mated with normal untreated male rats, and in the next generation (F₂), the litter rats at 30-day-old preserved the modified behaviors previously observed in their parents. The study revealed that Te effects were intergenerational. Here, considering that ZnTe was used in the previous study and that Zn ion has many physiological functions in the cell, experiments were conducted to elucidate if Zn would have an intergenerational effect similar to Te. Working with the same experimental setup as in the previous study but using ZnCl₂ instead of ZnTe, results revealed that none of the behavioral responses studied were affected by the F₁ generation. However, in the F₂ generation, lateralized exploration and survival behavior were inhibited, suggesting that Zn also has an intergenerational effect.

Living organisms live in continuous interaction with its environment. During this process changes in one can induce adaptive responses on the other. Many factors in the environment have been studied with the notorious distinction of been rare or to be of high intensity strength in its interaction with living organisms. However, little attention has been put on some factors that have constant interaction with organisms but usually have low intensity strength, such as the case of the inorganic chemical environment that surrounds us. In this review, the interaction between the chemical element and living organisms is discussed under a theoretical model of interaction between compartments, giving attention to tellurium (Te), zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) on some cognitive functions in human and animals. After studies in our laboratory of the phenotypic expression of the HSR (Hand Skill Relative) gene in school children community living in geographic zone rich in minerals and mines of La Rioja province, Argentine, where Te was found to be in higher non-toxic concentrations, a translational experimental model to maturing rats exposed to this trace element was made. Te was found to increase some parameters related to locomotion in an open field induced by novelty and exploratory motivation. At the same time, inhibition of lateralized responses, survival responses and social activity was also observed. Some of these changes, particularly those related to lateralization had similarity with that found previously in children of La Rioja province. Discussion of similarities and discrepancies of biologic effects between animals and humans, about the possible meaning of Te and its interaction with Zn and Se with relevance to humans was analyzed.