Prof. Aviva Berkovich-Ohana

Head of Laboratory: The Neuro-phenomenological lab studying brain, mind and behavior

The Research in my Lab Focuses on the Neural Mechanisms Underlying Various Meditation Training Techniques, Both in the Context of Basic Science and Consciousness Research, as well as the Context of Applied Science – i.e. their Relevance to Education, Teachers and Students. To this ends we utilize Various Research tools, Including neuroimaging (fMRI, MEG and EEG), Behavior (cognitive tasks) and Phenomenology (using depth-interviews.

Research Interests

Mindfulness in educational setups
Sense of self
Consciousness

Educational Background

1992 B.Sc. in Biology, Magna Cum Laude. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
1996 M.Sc. Biology, Cum Laude. Biology Department, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Institute of Marine Biology, Gulf of Eilat, Israel
2010 Ph.D. The Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Bar-Ilan-University, Israel
2015 Postdoctoral Fellow, the Neurobiology Department, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
2015 Postdoctoral Fellow, the Neurobiology Department, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.

Recent Publications

Giommi, F., Bauer, P. R., Berkovich-Ohana, A., Barendregt, H., Brown, K. W., Gallagher, S., … & Vago, D. R. (2023). The (In) flexible self: Psychopathology, mindfulness, and neuroscience. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 23(4), 100381.
‏Górska, G., Berkovich-Ohana, A., Klimecki, O., & Trautwein, F. M. (2023). Situational assessment of empathy and compassion: Predicting prosociality using a video-based task. Plos one, 18(12), e0289465.‏
Gallagher, S., Raffone, A., Berkovich-Ohana, A., Barendregt, H. P., Bauer, P. R., Brown, K. W., … & Vago, D. R. (2023). The Self-Pattern and Buddhist Psychology. Mindfulness, 1-9.‏
Atad, D. A., Mediano, P. A., Rosas, F., & Berkovich-Ohana, A. (2023). Meditation and complexity: A systematic review.‏
David, J., Bouso, J. C., Kohek, M., Ona, G., Tadmor, N., Dor-Ziderman, Y., & Berkovich-Ohana, A. (2023). Ayahuasca-induced personal death experiences: prevalence, characteristics, and impact on attitudes toward death, life, and the environment. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1287961.‏
Trautwein, F. M., Schweitzer, Y., Dor-Ziderman, Y., Nave, O., Ataria, Y., Fulder, S., & Berkovich-Ohana, A. (2023). Suspending the embodied self in meditation attenuates beta oscillations in posterior medial cortex.
‏David, A., Rubinsten, O., & Berkovich-Ohana, A. (2022). Math anxiety, self-centeredness, and dispositional mindfulness. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(2), 393.‏

Prof. Aviva Berkovich-Ohana

Head of Laboratory: The Neuro-phenomenological lab studying brain, mind and behavior

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