Ziv Ben-Zion, PhD
With a multidisciplinary background in biology, psychology, and neuroscience, my research aims to uncover the intricate neuro-cognitive mechanisms underlying human stress vulnerability and resilience, paving the way for developing novel personalized treatments for individuals suffering from stress– and anxiety-related disorders, with a focus on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To attain this ambitious goal, I investigate the behavioral, cognitive, physiological, and neural responses triggered by naturalistic experimental manipulations across healthy and clinical populations. My research methodology harnesses state-of-the-art statistical and computational approaches, guided by a steadfast commitment to transparent, reproducible science, and bolstered by extensive interdisciplinary collaborations.
My current research at Yale School of Medicine combines two different fields, investigated in two different labs: (1) Decision Neuroscience Lab (PI Ifat Levy) focusing on the neural mechanisms of decision-making under uncertainty, and (2) PTSD Research & Treatment Lab (PI Ilan Harpaz-Rotem) investigating the neurobiological & psychological factors related to the trauma exposure to advance treatments.
One line of research aims to understand basic neural computations (e.g., value, uncertainty) underlying different processes (e.g., decision-making, learning, memory) in different domains (e.g., rewards, punishments), and their association to anxiety– and stress-related symptoms. A second line of research aims to differentiate between two theory-driven process-based PTSD subtypes, based on objective neurobehavioral mechanisms, in order to improve clinical diagnosis and increase treatment success. A third line of research utilizes tools from computational psychiatry to study the behavior of large language models (e.g., Open-AI’s Chat-GPT), aiming to better understand learning and decision-making processes in humans through AI-based models.
Over the last decade, I obtained my educational and research experience at the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel-Aviv University, where I completed both my B.Sc. (Biology, Psychology & Neuroscience) and Direct Ph.D. in Neuroscience. As part of my doctoral studies at the Sagol Brain Institute (Prof. Talma Hendler), I led a large-scale longitudinal fMRI study of recent trauma survivors during the first critical year following trauma exposure (2015-2020, NIH-founded). By linking observed clinical symptoms with cognitive functioning and neural alternations, finding from this work contributed to our understating of the nature of traumatic stress responses and its aftermath, informing both the pathogenesis of PTSD and the science of resilience and recovery from trauma. Results of this work were published in leading journal in the fields of Neuroscience and Psychiatry (e.g., The American Journal of Psychiatry, Molecular Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry).
My experience in research methodologies include structural and functional MRI, EEG, Neurofeedback and Brain Stimulation methods (tDCS). I’m knowledgeable in analysis of behavioral and neuroimaging data using SPM, FSL, Matlab, R and Python. I have over 7 years of teaching experience, serving as a teaching assistant at Tel-Aviv University and as a private tutor for student groups and individuals. I volunteer in both professional organizations (e.g., Yale Postdoctoral Association, The Human Brain Project, Reviewer in Scientific Journals) and social initiatives (e.g., Birthright Project, Buddies Program, International Week).
Feel free to contact me at ziv.ben-zion@yale.edu