RESEARCH PROJECTS
2003
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Genetics
* The effect of ethnicity on allelic frequency of common genetic polymorphisms
* Genetics of Normal & Abnormal Behavior, Including Psychosis, Learning Disabilities & 
   Violence
* Learning Disabilities. Conduct Disorder & Violence in Children Joint projects with– 
   University of Toronto and Harvard University
* Genetics of Personality – genetics of addiction- smoking, drugs
* Executive Function – Alzheimer’s and other dementias
* Genetic Risk Factors of Susceptibility to Stress and Trauma

Psychiatry
* Neuropsychological evaluation of attention and concentration deficits in schizophrenia
* The development of new methods of diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia with 
   special focus on negative symptoms and cognitive deficits
* Studies of the role of genetic polymorphism in schizophrenia using novel family study 
   methods
* The assessment of correlations between clinical status and serum levels of long-acting 
   antipsychotic compounds
* Assessment of serum free radicals levels and their role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia 
   and tardive dyskinesia ( movement disorder induced by psychiatric drugs)
* The role of central nervous system excitaory amino acids (EAAs) neurotransmission in the 
   pathophysiology of schizophrenia and related psychiatric syndromes
* Investigations of the safety and efficacy of the NMDA receptor modulators glycine and 
   d-cycloserine as potential new treatments in schizophrenia and related psychiatric 
   syndromes
* Assessment of the correlation between NMDA receptor polymorphism and treatment 
   response to glycine and d-cycloserine
* Efficacy and safety of novel atypical antipsychotics (i.e. clozapine, risperidone, olanzepine, 
   iloperidone).
* A new biofeedback modality for the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
* Cognitive Processing without Awareness in Hypnosis, Electrophysiological Manifestations.
* The effects of family attitudes upon the course of illness of schizophrenic patients.

Nutrition and Brain Function in Psychiatry and Geriatrics including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease
* Animal models of schizophrenia and tardive dyskinesia based upon the PCP/NMDA 
   hypothesis of schizophrenia and the glutamatergic hypothesis of tardive dyskinesia
* The role of EAAs in the etiology of brain damage
* The assessment of glycine and d-cycloserine-induced morphological changes in rat brain.
* Effects of nutritional iron deficiency on hippocampal development in relation to cognitive 
   behavior in rats
* Manipulations of endogenous iron and neurotoxicity induced by excitatory amino acids in 
   rat brain.
* Combination of diet restriction and antioxidant drugs for protection from Parkinson’s 
   disease
* High dose glycine nutrition affects glial cell morphology in rat hippocampus and 
   cerebellum
* Diet Restriction Increases Enkephalin-and Dynorphin-like Immunoreactivity in Rat Brain 
   and Attenuates Long-term Retention of Passive Avoidance

Neurogeriatrics
* Age Associated Cognitive Decline
* Posterior Truncal Tacile Extinction in Anteriorly Flexed Parkinsonian (PD) Patients
* Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease by Deficits in Autonomic Activity and Internal 
   Cognition
* Biofeedback therapy of agitation instead of pharmacological treatment in patients with 
   Alzheimer’s disease
* Effect of overt orienting in a visual scene on memory in Alzheimer patients
* Category-specific semantic deficit in Anterior thalamic infarction
* Survey of the age structure of “age relevant” articles in four general medical journals
* Prevalence of potentially reversible dementias and actual reversibility in a memory 
   clinic cohort
* Joint Israel-Canada enteral feeding study of end stage dementia patients

Psychotrauma
* Genetic factors in the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder
* The wellbeing of Holocaust survivors born during the war
* Prevention of the effects of trauma resulting from traffic accidents

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