Doctoral students
Salomon Israel
Instructor: Prof. Richard Ebstein and Prof. Gary Bornstein
Research:
The molecular genetics of prosocial behavior
Teaching:
The Nature and Nurture of the Social Brain, Sociobiology
General
See lab website 1.
See lab website 2.
Representative work:
Ebstein, R.P., Israel, S., Chew, S.H., Zhong, S., & Knafo, A., Genetics of Human Social Behavior, Neuron; 2010
Israel S., Lerer E., Shalev I., Uzefovsky F., Riebold M., Laiba E., Bachner-Melman R., Maril A., Bornstein G., Knafo A.& Ebstein RP. The oxytocin receptor (OXTR) contributes to prosocial fund allocations in two economic decision tasks, the Dictator Game and Social Value Orientations PLoS ONE; 2009.
Bloch, B., Reshef, A., Cohen, T., Tafla, A., Gathas, S., Israel, S., Gritsenko, I., Kremer, I., & Ebstein, R.P., Preliminary effects of bupropion and the promoter region (HTTLPR) serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) polymorphism on smoking behavior in schizophrenia, Psychiatry Research; 2010
Zhong, S., Israel, S., Xue, H., Ebstein, R.P., & Chew, S.H., Monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) associated with attitude towards longshot risks. PLoS ONE; 2009.
Zhong, S., Israel, S., Xue, H., Sham, P, Ebstein, R.P., & Chew, S.H. A Neurochemical Approach to Valuation Sensitivity over Gains and Losses. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences; 2009.
Levin, R., Heresco-Levy, U., Bachner-Melman, R., Israel, S., Shalev, I., &Ebstein, R.P,. Association between arginine vasopressin 1a receptor (AVPR1a) promoter region polymorphisms and prepulse inhibition. Psychoneuroendocrinology; 2009
Israel, S., Lerer, E., Shalev, I., Uzefovsky, F., Reibold, M, Bachner-Melman, R., Granot, R., Bornstein G., Knafo, A., Yirmiya, N., Ebstein, R.P. Molecular genetic studies of the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor (AVPR1a) and the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) in human behavior: From autism to altruism with some notes in between. WCNH, Progress in Brain Research; 2008
Zhong, S., Chew, S.H., Set, E., Zhang, J., Xue, H., Sham, Pak., Ebstein, R.P., & Israel, S., The heritability of attitude toward economic risk. Twin Research and Human Genetics; 2009
Knafo, A., Israel, S., Darvasi, A., Bachner-Melman, R., Uzefovsky, F., Cohen, L., Feldman, E., Lerer, E., Laiba, E., Raz Y., Nemanov, L., Gritsenko, I., Dina, C., Agam, G., Dean, B., Bornstein, G., & Ebstein, R.P. Individual differences in allocation of funds in the dictator game associated with length of the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor RS3 promoter region and correlation between RS3 length and hippocampal mRNA. Genes Brain Behavior ; 2008
Shalev, I., Lerer, E., Israel., S., Uzefovsky, F., Gritsenko, I., Mankuta, D., Kaitz, M. & Ebstein, R. P., BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with HPA axis reactivity to psychological stress Psychoneuroendocrinology; 2008
Manor, I., Laiba, E., Eisenberg, J., Meidad, S., Lerer, E., Israel, S., Gritsenko, I., Tyano, S., Faraone, S., & Ebstein, R.P., Association between tryptophan hydroxylase 2, performance on a continuance performance test and response to methylphenidate in ADHD participants. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2008
Granot, R., Frankel, Y., Gritsenko, V., Lerer, E., Gritsenko, I., Bachner-Melman, R., Israel, S., & Ebstein, R.P. Provisional evidence that the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor gene is associated with musical memory. Evolution and Human Behavior; 2007
Notions of altruism have been a central pillar of civil societies since biblical times and many governmental, economic and political systems are premised on its implicit moral tones. By leveraging methods from molecular genetics, neuro-endocrinology and experimental economics, my research seeks to delve into the psychobiological architecture of prosocial behavior and to evaluate the contribution of genetic 'hard wiring' to the brain processes involved in motivating such behaviors. My collaborators and I combine genetic association studies with laboratory experiments to examine the age old question: Are their biological roots to altruistic behavior?