omerho1@telhai.ac.il

Areas of Interest

Nutritional Psychology
Developmental Psychopathology
Affective Disorders
Emotional Brain Circuitries
Physiology & Behavior

Biographical Info

Omer is a senior lecturer in the Psychology department at Tel-Hai Academic College. He is the head of the Psychology department and the Physiology & Behavior lab. director. He focuses on human clinical research, in both young and adult subjects, using psychophysiological and neural methods. He studies the associations between anxiety and dietary, eating habits and nutrition, and their influence on one's cognitive functioning and wellbeing.

Research

My main research interests are in the study of behavioral & physiological facets of the development of affective disorders and their relation to nutrition in humans across the lifespan.

Teaching

2011-2012	Lecturer, Academic writing, Criminology Faculty, The Max Stern academic college of Emek Yezreel.
2011-2014	Lecturer, Psychology of learning, Psychology Faculty, The Max Stern academic college of Emek Yezreel.
2013-2014	Lecturer, Research methods in social sciences, The Max Stern academic college of Emek Yezreel.
2014-2017	Lecturer, Introduction to Psychology, Education Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2015-2017	Lecturer, Psychopathology B, Education Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2015-2016	Lecturer, Learning & Memory, Multidisciplinary Studies Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2015-2017	Lecturer, Introduction to Psychology, Multidisciplinary Studies Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2014-current	Lecturer, Introduction to Psychobiology, Education Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2016-current	Lecturer, Learning, Psychology Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2016-2018	Lecturer, Introduction to Psychology, Psychology Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2016-2017	Lecturer, Abnormal psychology, Psychology Department, Tel-Hai College.
2016-current	Lecturer, Advanced Psychophysiology, Psychology Department, Tel-Hai College.
2016-current	Lecturer, Facets of anxiety & wellbeing in special education populations, Education Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2017-current	Lecturer, Facets of anxiety, wellbeing and Physiology, Psychology Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2017-current	Lecturer, The study of the Emotional Brain, Psychology Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.
2018-current	Lecturer, Cognitive Psychology, Behavioral Sciences Department, Kineret Academic College.
2018-current	Lecturer, Neuropsychology, Behavioral Sciences Department, Kineret Academic College.
2019-current	Lecturer, Nutritional Psychology, Psychology Department, Tel-Hai Academic College.

Awards

2007	PROMEMORIA European community.
2010-2013	Excellence scholarship from Gradual studies authority, University of Haifa.
2010-2014	Excellence scholarship from the Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF).
2012-2014	Israel Society for Biological Psychiatry (ISBP) young research leadership.
2014-2017	Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Psychology Department, University of Haifa.
2014-2019	Research Associate, Psychology Department, University of Haifa.
2017	Teaching Lecturer Excellency, Education Department, Tel-Hai College.

Publications

2010

Shatil, E., Metzer, A., Horovitz, O., and Miller, A. (2010). Home-based personalized cognitive training in MS patients: a study of adherence and cognitive performance. NeuroRehabilitation. 26(2): 143-53 [IF: 1.124; 5 years IF: 1.568; 159/192 – clinical neurology; 43/64 – Rehabilitation; Citations: 59].

2012

Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., Hall, J., Jacobson-Pick, S., and Richter-Levin, G. (2012). Post-weaning to pre-pubertal ('juvenile') stress: a model of induced predisposition to stress-related disorders. Neuroendocrinology. 95(1): 56-64 [IF: 4.373; 5 years IF: 3.615; 31/128 – endocrinology and metabolism; 52/252 - neuroscience; Citations: 32].

2013

Kim, E.J.*, Horovitz, O.*, Pellman, B.A., Tan, L.M., Li, Q., Richter-Levin, G., and Kim, J.J. (2013). Dorsal periaqueductal gray-amygdala pathway conveys both innate and learned fear responses in rats. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (PNAS). 110(36): 14795-800 - (*equal contribution) [IF: 9.674; 5 years IF: 10.563; 4/57 – multidisciplinary sciences; Citations: 30].

2014

Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., Yovell, Y., and Richter-Levin, G. (2012). A rat model of pre-puberty (juvenile) stress-induced predisposition to stress-related disorders: sex similarities and sex differences in effects and symptoms. World J Biol Psychiatry. 15(1): 36-48 [IF: 4.183; 5 years IF: 3.190; 26/139 - psychiatry; Citations: 17].

2015

Horovitz, O. and Richter-Levin, G. (2015). Dorsal Periaqueductal gray simultaneously modulates ventral Subiculum induced-plasticity in the Basolateral Amygdala and the Nucleus Accumbens. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9 (53) [IF: 3.270; 5 years IF: 3.863; 12/50 – behavioural sciences; 102/252 - neurosciences; Citations: 2].

2016

Horovitz, O., Roitburd, B.L., Abend, R., Ziskind, D. and Shechner, T. Distraction versus training attention away from threat: How to best wait for the dentist. (Australian Journal of Psychology (AJP)) [IF: 0.719; 5 years IF: 1.188; 81/129 – psychology].
Beuter, S., Ardi, Z., Horovitz, O., Wuchter, J., Keller, S., Saha, R., Tripathi, K., Anunu, R., Kehat, O., Kriebel, M., Richter-Levin, G. and Volkmer, H. Receptor tyrosine kinase EphA7 controls interneuron connectivity at specific subcellular compartments of granular cells. (Scientific Reports, IF: 5.578; 5 years IF: 5.597; 5/57 – multidisciplinary sciences).
Saha, R., Knapp, S., Horovitz, O., Kriebel, M., Ehrlich, I., Volkmer, H. and Richter-Levin, G. GABAergic Synapses at the Axon Initial Segment of Basolateral Amygdala Projection Neurons Modulate Fear Extinction (Neuropsychopharmacology, IF: 7.048; 5 years IF: 8.168; 19/252 – neuroscience; 11/255 – pharmacology & pharmacy; 11/139 - psychiatry).

2017

Ritov, G., Ardi, Z., Horovitz, O., Albrecht, A. and Richter-Levin, G. Juvenile adversity and adult threat controllability in translational models of stress-related disorders. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 14.
Horovitz, O., Richter-Levin, A., Xu, L., Jing, L. and Richter-Levin, G. Periaqueductal Grey modulation on Nucleus Accumbens and Basolateral Amygdala plasticity differentially under controllable and uncontrollable stress. (Scientific Reports, IF: 5.228; 5 years IF: 5.525; 7/63 – multidisciplinary sciences).

2018

Horovitz, O., Lindenfeld, I., Melamed, M. and Shechner, T. Developmental effects of stimulus gender and distractors' affective valence on threat detection in a visual search task (The British Journal of Developmental Psychology, IF: 1.719; 5 years IF: 2.304; 36/69 – psychology-developmental).

2019

Ataria Y., Lahad M. & Horovitz O. Applying the neurophenomenological approach to the study of trauma: Theory and practice. Constructivist Foundations 14(2): 197–214. https://constructivist.info/14/2/197.
Ataria Y., Lahad M. & Horovitz O. Authors’ response: Whatever works instead of all or nothing. Constructivist Foundations 14(2): 226–229. https://constructivist.info/14/2/226.
Dvir, M., Horovitz, O., Aderka, I., and Shechner, T. Fear conditioning and extinction in anxious and non-anxious youth: A meta-analysis. Behavior Research and Therapy (BRAT)), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2019.103431. IF: 4.134
Horovitz, O. Food and Mood: rethinking of mental illness through nutrition. EC Psychology and Psychiatry, 8.9: 1032-1034.

2020

Ardi, Z. & Horovitz, O. “You are what you remember but also what you do not know that you remember: on memory, life episodes and the brain”. Dvarim [education- Heb].
Horovitz, O. and Ataria, Y. The Destructive Nature of Severe and Ongoing Trauma: Impairments in the Minimal-self. Philosophical Psychology. DOI: 1080/09515089.2020.1854709.
Horovitz, O., Ardi*, Z., Ashkenazy, S., Ritov, G., Anunu, R., and Richter-Levin, G. Network neuromodulation of Opioid and GABAergic receptors following a combination of ‘juvenile’ and ‘adult stress’ in rats. International Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, 21(15), 5422; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21155422.

2021

Danon-Kraun, S., Horovitz, O., Frenkel, T., Richter-Levin, G., Pine, S.D., and Shechner, T. Return of Fear following extinction in youth: An Even-Related Potential study. Developmental Psychobiology, 63(7); https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22189.

Dr. Omer Horovitz CV

Dr. Michal Horovitz CV (35.56 KB)

Presentations

2006	The 16th Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., Jacobson-Pick, S., and Richter-Levin, G. Exposing rats to juvenile stress affect body weight and open field indices both soon after the exposure and in adulthood but in opposite directions.
2007	The 17th Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., and Richter-Levin, G. Individual differences in stress responsiveness affect the consequences of juvenile stress on coping with stress in adulthood.
2008	The 12th Annual meeting of the Israeli society for biological psychiatry, Israel. Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., and Richter-Levin, G. The influences of sex and individual differences in stress responsiveness on the effects of exposure to stressors during juvenility.
2008	The 18th Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., and Richter-Levin, G. Sex differences in the long term consequences of exposure to ‘juvenile stress’.
2008	[Invited talk] Germen-Israeli year of science and Technology conference, GIF’s 20th anniversary celebration within the 60th anniversary celebrations of the state of Israel, Israel. Horovitz, O. and Richter-Levin, G. The long term consequences of exposure to juvenile stress.
2009	The 3rd International meeting of the Haifa forum for Brain and Behavior, Israel. Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., and Richter-Levin, G. ‘Juvenile stress’ has different long term effects in male and female rats.
2009	The 13th Annual meeting of the Israeli society for biological psychiatry, Israel. Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., and Richter-Levin, G. ‘Juvenile stress’ has different long term effects in male and female rats.
2010	The 7th FENS forum of European Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., and Richter-Levin, G. Applying sex-specific criteria for the assessment of the effects of exposure to stress in juvenility, adulthood and their combination.
2010	The 3rd France-Israel Binational Conference & In Neuroscience, Neurology Psychiatry, Israel. Horovitz, O., Tsoory, M.M., and Richter-Levin, G. Applying sex-specific criteria for the assessment of the effects of exposure to stress in juvenility, adulthood and their combination.
2010	The 19th Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Horovitz, O., Ashkenazi-Karni, S., and Richter-Levin, G. How do we react to stress? Possibility for differential activation of primal emotional circuits in the brain.
2011	The 20th Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Horovitz, O., Strominger, I., Ashkenazi-Karni, S., and Richter-Levin, G. Exposure to stress differentially affects behavior and brain activity in male and female rats.
2012	The 21st Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Ashkenazi-Karni, S., Horovitz, O., Metzger, N., Vered, R., Anunu., R., and Richter-Levin, G. Exposure to stress differentially affects behavior and expression of kappa opioid receptor and GABA-A receptor in male rats.
2012	The 21st Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Horovitz, O., Ashkenazi-Karni, S. and Richter-Levin, G. Stress exposure and GABA-Aα2 receptor protein expression in emotional neural circuits.
2012	Frontiers in Stress and Cognition: From Molecules to Behavior conference (under EBBS), Ascona, Switzerland. Horovitz, O., Strominger, I., Ashkenazi-Karni, S., and Richter-Levin, G. Exposure to stress differentially affects behavior and brain activity in male and female rats.
2013	The 17th Annual meeting of the Israeli society for biological psychiatry, Israel. Horovitz, O. and Richter-Levin, G. Dorsal Periaqueductal gray (dPAG) modulation of plasticity in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) and the Basloateral Amygdala (BLA) induced by Ventral Subiculum (vSub) stimulation.
2013	The 22nd Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Horovitz, O., Richter-Levin, A. and Richter-Levin, G. dPAG priming differentially modulates plasticity in the BLA and the NAcc, under controllable & uncontrollable stressful conditions.
2014	The 4th International meeting of the Haifa forum for Brain and Behavior, Israel. Horovitz, O., Richter-Levin, A., and Richter-Levin, G. Factors that affect plasticity: Controllability and positive/negative affect-related aspects of limbic midbrain modulation of higher limbic regions.
2014	The 18th Annual meeting of the Israeli society for biological psychiatry, Israel. Horovitz, O., Richter-Levin, A., and Richter-Levin, G. Factors that affect plasticity: Controllability and positive/negative affect-related aspects of limbic midbrain modulation of higher limbic regions.
2015	The 19th Annual meeting of the Israeli society for biological psychiatry, Israel. Horovitz, O., Lindenfeld, I. and Shechner, T. Developmental effects of contextual affective valance and stimuli gender on latency to target’s fixation in a visual search task.
2015	The 23rd Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Saha, R., Horovitz, O., Knapp, S., Kriebel, M., Ehrlich, I., Volkmer, H. and Richter-Levin, G. Effects of in vivo Neurofascin knockdown on fear extinction and synaptic plasticity in the basolateral amygdala.
2016	The 25th Annual meeting of the Israel society for neuroscience, Israel. Horovitz, O., Lindenfeld, I., Melamed, M. and Shechner, T. Developmental differences in a social visual search task.
2017	The 21st Annual meeting of the Israeli society for biological psychiatry, Israel. Horovitz, O., Kim, J.J. and Richter-Levin, G. Complex emotional brain: facets of FEAR.
2017	The 9th European meeting on human fear conditioning (EMHFC), Germany. Horovitz, O. and Shechner, T. Spontaneous EEG-resting state activity in pediatric anxious subjects.
2018	The 7th International Meeting of the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, Israel. Horovitz, O., Marzan, D. and Shechner, T. Spontaneous resting state EEG activity in healthy and anxious youth.
2018	The 7th International Meeting of the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, Israel. Ritov, G., Ashkenazi, S., Horovitz, O., Vered, R., and Richter-Levin, G. Juvenile adversities impair adult threat-coping ability and strengthen its relation to long-term changes in anhedonic behavior.
2018	The 10th European meeting on human fear conditioning (EMHFC), Germany. Horovitz, O. and Shechner, T. Spontaneous resting state EEG activity in pediatric healthy and anxious youth.
2018	Brain research and Behavior: Trauma, Consciousness and Cognition conference, Israel. Horovitz, O. and Richter-Levin, G. The role of GABAergic interneurons in the etiology of PTSD: from animal models to human clinical research.
2019	International Meeting of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research, London, UK. Horovitz, O. What our eating habits might do to our minds: Intervening between the tight interplay between nutrition, psychological well-being and mental health susceptibility.
2021	The 24th Annual Conference of the Israel Society of Biological Psychiatry, Israel. Horovitz, O. The interplay between nutrition, psychological well-being, and mental health.
2021	The 24th Annual Conference of the Israel Society of Biological Psychiatry, Israel. Horovitz, O. The association between nutrition and depressive symptoms in young adults.

Link to

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Omer_Horovitz

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2f2EAAoAAAAJ&hl=en