- Nutritional Psychology
- Developmental Psychopathology
- Affective Disorders
- Emotional Brain Circuitries
- Physiology & Behavior
ד"ר עומר הורוביץ

Areas of Interest
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
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, |
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. |