There are various projects done in the lab, which collectively focus on the topics of cognitive control, cognitive training, and the use of mobile, ecological tools to assess cognitive function, mood and behavior. Studies are done in the lab but also in the field, using mobile phone apps, smart tracking bands, and wearable devices. Some of the studies use EEG to measure brain activity and track correlates of cognitive and mood states.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a chronic condition, characterized by emotional, physical, motivational and cognitive symptoms. In terms of cognitive abilities, inhibitory control, the executive function process which allows us to maintain goal-directed behavior while ignoring distractions, is considered a key, and even causal factor, in depression. Despite its significance for depression, we still lack the knowledge about the variation in inhibitory control in daily life, and the link between inhibitory control and ecological, daily variations, in mood.
The current project will use a mobile app (‘Moodify’) to monitor and track, ecologically, participants’ mood, and measure the link between mood variations and inhibitory control. Inhibitory control is measured using various tasks, including multiple object tracking, Stroop task and a Go/No-Go task.
Collaborators: Prof. Omer Bonne (Hadassah Psychiatry); Posit Science Corporation
Funding: Israel Science Foundation (ISF)
Given that inhibitory control seems key in depression, the current project aims at testing whether adaptive, mobile training of inhibitory control abilities can reduce depressive symptoms in those suffering from various mental health conditions. Training is performed using an app installed on the participant's mobile device, and varies adaptively based on individual performance. Cognition, depression, anxiety and function is measured at baseline, immediately following training and after a few weeks (follow up). The study is conducted on a sample of youth at a mental health facility in Nes Ziona.
Student (MA): Talia Lasry
Between 30-50% of cancer survivors report cognitive decline, which may result from the malignancy itself or is a by-product of treatments (chemotherapy, radiation). The current pilot study will test the effectiveness of a combined treatment approach, which includes remote cognitive training and functional treatment using tele-rehabilitation. We will assess cognitive function, quality of life and daily function in adult cancer survivors.
Collaborators: Dr Yafit Gilboa (Psychology); Dr. Chen Makranz (Oncology, Hadassah)
Funding: Israeli Cancer Association
ICRF Brause Family Initiative for Quality of Life
Our ability to empathize with others is affected by our mood and the intensity of our emotional experience. In the current study, we examine the effects of mood on our ability to emphasize.
Student (PhD): Noam Roth
Collaborators: Dr. Anat Perry (Psychology)
Resilience is an important factor determining how well warriors can cope with stressors during their military service. However, the factors affecting resilience and its manifestation in daily life is not well understood. In the current research, we will use a mobile application and a smart tracking watch to monitor resilience of male and female warriors during their training, and then measure how inhibitory control training improves resilience in these populations. We will also study the differences in resilience and coping with challenges between male and female warriors.
Students (MA): Anat Afek, Rina Ben Avraham
Collaborators: Dr. Yafit Gilboa (School of OT), Dr Ariel Ben Yehuda (IDF), Noa Barazin (IDF)
Funding: Ministry of Defense (Mafat)
Research ended
In this collaborative EU project, we will apply a combined remote intervention to treat major depression: a novel cognitive control videogame and at-home non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS). During the last 2 years of the project we will conduct a multi-site RCT in Germany, Latvia and Israel to test the feasibility and efficacy of this technology.
Collaborators: Prof. Omer Bonne (Hadassah), Prof. Daphne Bavelier (UNIGE), Prof. Friedhelm Hummel (EPFL), Prof. Frank Padberg (UMN), Prof. Elmars Rancans (LMU)
Clinical Coordinator: Shira Ahissar
Funding: ERA-Net Neuron (https://www.neuron-eranet.eu/_media/DiSCoVeR_summary.pdf)
Emotional dysregulation is considered key in ADHD. Yet, measuring emotion dysregulation using a one-time measurement in the lab is difficult. In addition, the link between emotion dysregulation and executive function, which is also compromised in ADHD, is still not understood. In the current study, we use ecological monitoring – using mobile apps and smart watches – to measure daily variations in emotion regulation and in executive function, and measure their co-variation over time.
Student (PhD): Maayan Cohen
Collaborators: Prof. Adina Maeir (School of OT); Prof. Itai Berger (Department of Social Work)
funding: National Institute of Psychobiology Israel (NIPI)
Research ended
Deficits in executive functions, the cognitive processes underlying goal-directed behaviors, are considered a core mechanism in ADHD. Since current treatment options have limited effectivity, there is a pressing need for novel, efficacious interventions that target executive functions directly. We will examine the feasibility and efficacy of a novel treatment approach, combining two treatments targeting executive functions directly: Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) over prefrontal cortex, and cognitive control training (CCT). ADHD symptoms, executive functions and neural signals will be measured before and after treatment.
According to the literature, the results of studies regarding EEG indices as neuronal markers for ADHD are controversial. As part of the study, we will examine whether there is a difference between the ADHD groups and a control group without ADHD in executive function indices as well as in neuronal indices - using EEG tests, where the focus is on Beta , Theta and the beta-beta ratio (TBR). We will also examine whether there is a correlation between the neuronal indices and the executive functions and whether the relationship in these indices differs between the two groups (ADHD versus the control group).
Funding: Ministry of Science and Technology: 1. Golda Meir Academy-Business Scholarships for Women in Science and Technology. 2. Zvi Yanai Scholarship for Israel's citizen Arab, Druze and Circassians Doctoral students
Collaborators: Prof. Itai Berger (The Pediatric Neurology Unit, Assuta Ashdod Hospital), Prof. Roi Cohen-Kadosh (Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford), Prof. Eitan Kerem (Pediatric Division, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center), InnoSphere, Alpha program students.
In this collaborative project, we will develop a mobile app to help daycare and kindergarten teachers track and monitor behavioral problems in young children, and apply behavioral methods for intervention.
Collaborators: Prof. Tom Gumpel (School of Education), Dr. Judah Koller (School of Education), Prof. Yifat Kolikant (School of Education)
Funding: Ministry of Education, Israel
Post-Doctoral Fellow: Dr. Orly Shimony