Mindfulness is an umbrella term for a large range of practices that cultivate qualities of mind such the ability to deal skillfully with difficult emotions, work with attention in a flexible manner, and treat one-self and others with greater kindness, empathy and compassion. The current research focus of the Sagol Center for Brain and Mind is understanding the working ingredients and mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of Mindfulness and other Mind-Body training practices and their relevance to supporting various human conditions. We are also interested in how mindfulness can support healing in groups and communities which experience conflict and polarization, and the ways mindfulness practices need to be adapted to make them sensitive to a greater diversity of individuals and communities. The Sagol Center for Brain and Mind is committed to increasing diversity and inclusion. Our research group includes individuals from a large range of ethnicities, religions and ages, and individuals with physical challenges. We try to create conditions for all views and voices to be seen and heard and for our center to be a safe space for the flourishing of all its members.
How do mindfulness practices support wellbeing and mental health? We currently focus on understanding specific mechanisms that we hypothesize lead to greater emotional regulatory flexibility,
Compassion and empathy are central for individual and societal wellbeing. In a set of studies, we have developed means to study physiological and emotional inter-personal
Mindfulness programs such as MBSR and MBCT were developed in specific contexts and most research has studied their effects on participants who are considered usually
Effective deliberation in society is important for healthy democratic process and for societal wellbeing. However, current political and social discourse world-wide is characterized by severe
In recent years, there is a growing understanding of the role of moral injury in trauma of people, such as soldiers, who have been sent
We are studying the effects of our whole-school mindfulness-based social-emotional program – the Purple Schools Program – on teachers and students. We are interested in
Can contemplative pedagogies such as mindfulness, contemplation and mindful self-inquiry increase experiential learning, well-being and meaning for students in higher-education programs? We are implementing and
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Shlomov, I., Levit‐Binnun, N., & Horowitz‐Kraus, T. (2023). Neurodevelopmental Effects of a Mindfulness and Kindness Curriculum on Executive Functions in Preschool Children—A Randomized, Active‐Controlled Study. Mind, Brain, and Education. Read the paper.
Kucerova, B., Levit-Binnun, N., Gordon, I., & Golland, Y. (2023). From Oxytocin to Compassion: The Saliency of Distress. Biology, 12(2), 183. Read the paper.
Levit-Binnun, N., Arbel, K., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2021). The Mindfulness Map: A practical classification framework of mindfulness practices, associated intentions, and experiential understandings. frontiers in Psychology, 12. Read the paper.
Brezis, R. S., Levin, A., Oded, Y., Zahavi, O., Gampel, G., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2021). A contemplative biofeedback intervention for adults with autism spectrum disorder: feasibility of a community-based treatment. Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback, 46(2), 141-149. Read the paper.
Cohen, D., Landau, D. H., Friedman, D., Hasler, B. S., Levit-Binnun, N., & Golland, Y. (2021). Exposure to social suffering in virtual reality boosts compassion and facial synchrony. Computers in Human Behavior, 122, 106781. Read the paper.
Horowitz, I., Avirame, K., Naim-Feil, J., Rubinson, M., Moses, E., Gothelf, D., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2020). The interactive effects of test-retest and methylphenidate administration on cognitive performance in youth with ADHD: A double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study. Psychiatry research, 291, 113056. Read the paper.
Freche, D., Naim-Feil, J., Hess, S., Peled, A., Grinshpoon, A., Moses, E., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2020). Phase-amplitude markers of synchrony and noise: A resting-state and TMS-EEG study of schizophrenia. Cerebral Cortex Communications, 1(1), tgaa013. Read the paper.
Borelli, J. L., Shai, D., Fogel Yaakobi, S., Levit‐Binnun, N., & Golland, Y. (2019). Interpersonal physiological regulation during couple support interactions: Examining the role of respiratory sinus arrhythmia and emotional support. Psychophysiology, 56(11). Read the paper.
Eidelman-Rothman, M., Ben-Simon, E., Freche, D., Keil, A., Hendler, T., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2019). Sleepless and desynchronized: Impaired inter trial phase coherence of steady-state potentials following sleep deprivation. NeuroImage, 202. Read the paper.
Sharon-David, H., Mizrahi, M., Rinott, M., Golland, Y., Birnbaum, G. E. (2019). Being on the same wavelength: Behavioral synchrony between partners and its influence on the experience of intimacy. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36(10). Read the paper.
Rousseau, S., Kritzman, L., Frenkel, T. I., Levit‐Binnun, N., & Golland, Y. (2019). The association between mothers’ and daughters’ positive affect is moderated by child cardiac vagal regulation. Developmental Psychobiology. Read the paper.
Rubinson, M., Horowitz, I., Naim-Feil, J., Gothelf, D., Moses, E., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2019). EEG functional networks reveal global effects of Methylphenidate in youth with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Brain connectivity, 9(5). Read the paper.
Rubinson, M., Horowitz, I., Naim-Feil, J., Gothelf, D., Levit-Binnun, N., & Moses, E. (2019). Effects of methylphenidate on the ERP amplitude in youth with ADHD: A double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over EEG study. PloS one, 14(5). Read the paper.
Golland, Y., Mevorah, D., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2019). Affiliative zygomatic synchrony in co-present strangers. Scientific Reports, 9. Read the paper.
Alkoby, A., Pliskin, R., Halperin, E., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2019). An eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) workshop increases regulatory choice flexibility. Emotion, 19(4). Read the paper.
Freche, D., Naim-Feil, J., Peled, A., Levit-Binnun, N., & Moses, E. (2018). A quantitative physical model of the TMS-induced discharge artifacts in EEG. PLoS computational biology, 14(7). Read the paper.
Federman, A., Ergas, O. (2018). The Healing Paradox of Controlled Behavior: A Perspective from Mindfulness-Based Interventions. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 25. Read the paper.
Golland, Y., Hakim, A., Aloni, T., Schaefer, S., Levit-Binnun, N. (2018). Affect dynamics of facial EMG during continuous emotional experiences. Biological Psychology, 139. Read the paper.
Naim-Feil, J., Rubinson, M., Freche, D., Grinshpoon, A., Peled, A., Moses, E., Levit-Binnun, N. (2018). Altered Brain Network Dynamics in Schizophrenia: A Cognitive Electroencephalography Study. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 3(1). Read the paper.
Ergas, O., Hadar, L. L., Albelda, N., & Levit-Binnun, N. (2018). Contemplative neuroscience as a gateway to mindfulness: Findings from an educationally framed teacher learning program. Mindfulness, 9(6). Read the paper.
Brezis, R. S., Noy, L., Alony, T., Gotlieb, R., Cohen, R., Golland, Y., Levit-Binnun, N. (2017). Patterns of Joint Improvisation in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. fronties in Psychology, 8. Read the paper.
Golland, Y., Levit-Binnun, N., Hendler, T., Lerner, Y. (2017). Neural dynamics underlying emotional transmissions between individuals. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 12(8). Read the paper.
Alkoby A., Halperin E., Tarrasch, R., Levit-Binnun, N. (2017). Increased Support for Political Compromise in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Following an 8-Week Mindfulness Workshop. Mindfulness, 8(5). Read the paper.
Stern-Ellran K., Zilcha-Mano, S., Sebba, R., Levit-Binnun, N. (2016). Disruptive Effects of Colorful vs. Non-colorful Play Area on Structured Play – A Pilot Study with Preschoolers. frontiers in Psychology, 7. Read the paper.
Davidovitch M., Levit-Binnun, N., Golan, D., Manning-Courtney, P. (2015). Late Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder Following Initial Negative Assessment by a Multidisciplinary Developmental Team: Reasons and Implications. The Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 36(4). Read the paper.
Golland Y., Arzouan Y., Levit-Binnun N. (2015). The mere co-presence: synchronisation of autonomic signals and emotional experiences across co-present, not communicating individuals. Plos One, 10(5). Read the paper.
Noy L., Levit-Binnun N., Golland Y. (2015). Being in the Zone: physiological markers of togetherness during joint improvisation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9. Read the paper.
Levit-Binnun N., Golland Y. (2015). Adding Network Approaches to a Neurobiological Framework of Resilience. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 38. Read the paper.
Levit Binnun, N., Tarrasch, R. (2014). Relation between contemplative exercises and an enriched psychology students’ experience in a neuroscience course. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. Read the paper.
Shahar, B., Szsepsenwol, O., Zilcha-Mano, S., Haim, N., Zamir, O., Levi-Yeshuvi, S., Levit-Binnun, N. (2014). A Wait-List Randomized Controlled Trial of Loving-Kindness Meditation Programme for Self-Criticism. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 22(4). Read the paper.
Arzouan, Y., Moses, E., Peled, A., Levit-Binnun, N. (2014). Impaired network stability in schizophrenia revealed by TMS perturbations. Schizophrenia Research, 152(1). Read the paper.
Golland, Y., Keissar, K., Levit-Binnun, N. (2014). Studying the dynamics of autonomic activity during emotional experience. Psychophysiology, 51(11). Read the paper.
Levit-Binnun, N., Szepsenwol, O., Stern-Ellran, K., Engel-Yeger, B. (2014). The relationship between sensory responsiveness profiles, attachment orientations, and anxiety symptoms. Australian Journal of Psychology, 66(4). Read the paper.
Levit-Binnun, N., Davidovitch, M., Golland, Y. (2013). Sensory and motor secondary symptoms as indicators of brain vulnerability. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 5(1). Read the paper.
Levit-Binnun, N., Golland, Y. (2012). Finding behavioral and network indicators of brain vulnerability. frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, 10. Read the paper.
Levit-Binnun, N., Golland, Y., Davidovitch, M., Rolnick, A. (2010). The Biofeedback Odyssey: From Neal Miller to Current and Future Models of Regulation. Biofeedback, 38(4). Read the paper.
