Neurocognition: Cognitive Resources and Brain Plasticity

Vision

My lab explores human brain function and behavior in naturalistic contexts, focusing on how cognitive and emotional processes unfold in everyday life. To capture the complexity of brain -behavior interactions, my research integrates multimodal neuroimaging (including fMRI and EEG), controlled behavioral paradigms, physiological biomarkers such as BDNF, and advanced machine-learning approaches. We combine prospective imaging approaches with case - control comparisons of individuals exposed to similar conditions but differing in clinical status - for example, healthy older adults versus individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and patients with psychiatric disorders alongside matched control groups. This framework enables us to characterize disease-related processes while identifying functional neuromarkers, and translate neuroscience discoveries into clinical applications that promote brain health and well-being.

Team

Prof. Yulia Lerner – PI

Liron Azulay – PhD student

Amit Bar Natan

Shira Peled

Ayelet Or-Borichev (PhD student)

Tamir Eisenstein (PhD student)

Noga Oren (PhD student)

Dr. Galit Yogev Seligmann (post-doc)

Dr. Yulia Golland (Reichman University)

Dr. Gal Raz (Ichilov)

Prof. Shimon Ullman (WIS)

Prof. Uri Hasson (Princeton)

Prof. Marlene Behrmann (University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon)

 Prof. K. Suzanne Scherf (University of Pittsburgh)

Prof. Morwaread Farbood (NYU)

Prof. David J Heeger (NYU)

Prof. Miki Bloch (TAU)

Dr. Michael Krasnostein (TAU)

Funding

Marie Curie, ISF, NIPI, Gassner Fund for Medical Research, BeyondVerbal

 

 

Highlight Publications

  1. Lerner Y, Scherf KS, Katkov M, Hasson U, Behrmann M.
    Changes in Cortical Coherence Supporting Complex Visual and Social Processing in Adolescence.
    J Cogn Neurosci
    . 2021
  2. Eisenstein T, Giladi N, Hendler T, Havakuk O, Lerner Y.
    Hippocampal and non-hippocampal correlates of physically active lifestyle and their relation to episodic memory in older adults. Neurobiol Aging. 2022
  3. Eisenstein T, Giladi N, Hendler T, Havakuk O, Lerner Y

Neural synchrony during naturalistic information processing is associated with aerobically active lifestyle and cardiorespiratory fitness in cognitively intact older adults. Front Hum Neurosci. 2022