Bonding Neuroscience Lab

11/06/2024

A brand new paper:

Some people are Super Synchronizers- synchronize better regardless of partners or tasks

Super Synchronizers are more attractive

Humans prefer romantic partners who can synchronize

Matan Cohen

Social and nonsocial synchrony are interdependent and can increase perceived attraction. Some individuals have a greater propensity for synchrony, and such Super Synchronizers are rated as the most attractive partners.

17/02/2023

The Bonding Neuroscience Lab in ISCOP 2023!

In the photos:

Our own Maayan Avargil presenting a poster on cultural differences in Palestinian-Arabs and Jewish mothers.

As well as ..

Shir Atzil giving a talk about the impact of affect on the credibility of sexual assault testimonies, from Diane Shachar’s Phd work.

10/06/2022

When we’re on a first date, what makes us attracted to someone? HUJI Professor Dr. Shir Atzil from the Department of Psychology and her team have conducted a study that sheds light on this intriguing question. They analyzed the behavior of potential partners during speed dates and later asked them to assess the romantic interest they felt towards each other. The team noticed that couples who synchronized their physiology with one another and adapted their behavioral movements to each other were also romantically attracted to one another. To read the full study, go to go.nature.com/3xDnwKe.

המחלקה לפסיכולוגיה - האוניברסיטה העברית
Image credit: Juan Vargas/Pexels

19/04/2022

Congratulation to our lab member Lior Zeevi, who just won the Lafer center excellence award, for her study on the neuro-behavioral mechanisms of Post-Partum Depression.
The award is granted to outstanding students and Researchers for gender-related studies.

We are proud of you Lior!🎉

14/04/2022

Why are we attracted to some people and not to others?

A new study conducted in our lab finds that when a man and a woman synchronize their physiology and dynamically tune their behavior to one another during a first date, they are romantically and sexually attracted to one another.

The research was conducted by Lior Zeevi, Nathalie klein-Sellle, Yuval Hart and Shir Atzil.

See full article here https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-08582-6

31/03/2022

We had the pleasure of participating in the poster conference at the Department of Psychology.

Miada Abusalih and Maayan Abargil presented their Arab-Jewish cross-cultural study, showing cross-cultural variation in affect communication and synchrony in mother-infant dyads.

Hadar Sagi presented hers and Lior Zeevi’s study on the neuro-behavioral mechanisms of Post-Partum Depression.

https://www.facebook.com/367698353440196/posts/1817574695119214/

15/02/2022

המון ברכות לחברת המעבדה, דיאן שחר שזכתה במלגת מרכז לייפר ללימודי נשים ומגדר על עבודתה המחקרית בנושא
Behavioral mechanisms that determine the credibility of sexual assault victims
גאים בך דיאן!

Congratulation to our lab member Diane Shachar, who won the Lafer center for women and gender studies award!
For her academic dissertation on Behavioral mechanisms that determine the credibility of sexual assault victims.
We are proud of you Diane!🎉

ברכות לדיאן שחר, סטודנטית ללימודי מוסמך במגמה הקלינית, שזכתה במלגת מרכז לייפר ללימודי נשים ומגדר על עבודתה המחקרית בנושא
Behavioral mechanisms that determine the credibility of sexual assault victims

במכתב הזכייה נכתב שעבודתה של דיאן מצויינת ותורמת למטרותיו של המרכז.

דיאן סטודנטית במעבדתה של ד"ר שיר אציל Bonding Neuroscience Lab

02/01/2022

טענה מקובלת היא שהאדם נולד עם ידע חברתי, כלומר שיש לנו מנגונים מוחיים מולדים ההופכים אותנו ליצורים חברתיים. ד"ר שיר אציל והדוקטורנטית ליאור זאבי מציעות תיאוריה לפיה חיות לומדות להיות חברתיות אם הן לא מסוגלות לשרוד ותלויות בפרטים אחרים מאותו המין בשביל ויסות מערכות הגוף הבסיסיות. כלומר, החברתיות היא ידע נרכש.

המאמר המלא בתגובה הראשונה

Mothers are highly responsive to their offspring. In non-human mammals, mothers secrete dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in response to their pups. Yet, it is still unknown which aspect of the offspring behavior elicits dopaminergic responses in mothers. Here, we tested whether infants’ affective signals elicit dopaminergic responses in the NAcc of human mothers. First, we conducted a behavioral analysis on videos of infants’ free play and quantified the affective signals infants spontaneously communicated. Then, we presented the same videos to mothers during a magnetic resonance-positron emission tomography scan. We traced the binding of [11C]raclopride to free D2/3-type receptors to assess maternal dopaminergic responses during the infant videos. When mothers observed videos with many infant signals during the scan, they had less [11C]raclopride binding in the right NAcc. Less [11C]raclopride binding indicates that less D2/3 receptors were free, possibly due to increased endogenous dopamine responses to infants’ affective signals. We conclude that NAcc D2/3 receptors are involved in maternal responsiveness to affective signals of human infants. D2/3 receptors have been associated with maternal responsiveness in nonhuman animals. This evidence supports a similar mechanism in humans and specifies infant-behaviors that activate the maternal dopaminergic system, with implications for social neuroscience, development and psychopathology.

See full article in first comment

17/10/2021

06/06/2021

המון ברכות לחברת המעבדה, משי ג׳רסי שזכתה במלגתJBC- Jerusalem Brain Community !
המלגה מוענקת לסטודנטים מצטיינים לתואר ראשון, המעוניינים להמשיך במחקריהם למדעי המוח וקוגניציה. משי קיבלה את המלגה על עבודת המחקר שלה שבוחן את מנגנוני המוח וההתנהגות העומדים בבסיס הקשר שבין הורים ופעוטות עם אוטיזם. אנו גאים בך משי!

Congratulation to our lab member Meshi Djerassi, who won the JBC-Jerusalem Brain Community Award!
The award supports talented undergraduate students who want to peruse research in brain & cognitive science. Meshi received the award for her research on the neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying bond formation in parents and children with autism. We are proud of you Meshi Djerassi!

The Jerusalem Brain Community
המחלקה לפסיכולוגיה - האוניברסיטה העברית