Dani Yaniv | University of Haifa (original) (raw)

Papers by Dani Yaniv

The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2014

Reviews in the Neurosciences, 2001

Brain Research Reviews, 2004

The amygdala has been implicated in a variety of functions, ranging from attention to memory to e... more The amygdala has been implicated in a variety of functions, ranging from attention to memory to emotion. In theories about the amygdala's role in conditioned fear, the lateral amygdala (LA) is the primary, perhaps unique, interface for incoming conditioned sensory stimuli and the central nucleus is the major output station. Recent studies indicate, however, that amygdala output pathways may be dissociated as a function of the type of conditioned fear behavior. Based on behavioral, electrophysiological and anatomical evidence, the present discussion proposes a modification of the traditional model of input pathways to the amygdala such that the LA activation as a sensory interface is limited to relatively simple, unimodal conditioned stimulus features whereas the basal amygdaloid nucleus (B) may serve as an amygdaloid sensory interface for complex, configural conditioned stimulus information. We further argue that the partition of amygdalar nuclei according to a complexity dimension appears to correspond both for input and output pathways and thus constitutes a common organizing factor in the functional anatomy of the amygdala. The extensive intra-amygdala wiring is assumed to underlie the computations necessary to perform behavioral decisions of various levels of complexity. Collectively, these results endow the amygdala with a more sophisticated role in guiding motivation and behavior.

The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2011

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2006

A variety of findings suggest that the amygdala and the hippocampus represent two rather differen... more A variety of findings suggest that the amygdala and the hippocampus represent two rather different but interacting memory systems. Of significant interest is their interaction during stress, which may help explain the controversial and sometimes confusing effects of stress on memory, with stress sometimes enhancing, impairing, or having no effect on memory or long‐term potentiation (LTP).1, 2 LTP is one type of synaptic plasticity that has been implicated in some forms of hippocampus‐ and amygdala‐dependent memory processing. Consistent with a dynamic interactive view of amygdala and hippocampus function, the present series of experiments examined their possible simultaneous activation by the direct projections from the entorhinal cortex (EC). In addition, we studied the effects of novel vs. familiar stress on immobility and simultaneously induced LTP in the amygdala and hippocampus. Stimulation of EC evoked in the amygdaloid basal nucleus (B) and in the dentate gyrus (DG), field potentials consisting of negative‐positive and positive‐negative waveforms, respectively. Theta burst stimulation of the EC induced late‐phase LTP simultaneously in B and in DG. However, the mechanisms involved differ between the two areas as the NMDA receptor antagonist CPP blocked LTP in the DG but not in B. In light of the known functional interactions between the basolateral amygdala complex (comprised of lateral, basal, and accessory basal nuclei) and the DG, the results suggest a coordinating role for the EC by simultaneously modulating activity and plasticity in these structures. Furthermore, the ability of both areas to sustain late‐phase LTP supports a role for both in memory formation, albeit of different types and mechanisms. It is know that certain types of stress suppress hippocampal LTP as well as hippocampal‐dependent memory processes. However, the effects of stress on the amygdala are less known. Since the amygdala is recognized to mediate stress responses, stress may have opposite effects on amygdala activity and plasticity. In a preliminary set of experiments, we compared the effects of stress on simultaneously induced LTP in B and DG. A mild stress was induced by placing rats on a platform in a circular pool in a brightly lightened room. Stress consisted of either a single exposure (‘novel stress’) or two exposures on two consecutive days (‘repeated stress’). Immobility was higher in the ‘repeated stress’ rats than in the ‘novel stress’ group. Preliminary results suggest that novel stress facilitates both early‐ and late‐phase LTP in B but has little effect on LTP in DG. In contrast, repeated stress inhibits late‐LTP in B as well as both early‐ and late‐LTP in DG. Collectively, these results suggest novel stress to be a learning‐supporting situation, whereas repeated stress may induce a depressive‐like status in which learning and memory are hampered. Furthermore, the results point to the possibility that the relative involvement of the amygdala and hippocampus in memory formation differs depending on the emotional context of the experience

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2006

European Journal of Neuroscience, 2004

Stress impairs hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a model of synaptic plasticity that is a... more Stress impairs hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a model of synaptic plasticity that is assumed to underlie memory formation. In the amygdala, little is known about the effects of stress on LTP, or about its longevity. Here we assessed the ability of entorhinal cortex (EC) stimulation to induce LTP simultaneously in the basal amygdaloid nucleus (B) and in the dentate gyrus (DG) of freely behaving Wistar rats. We also tested whether LTP persists over days. Once established, we investigated the effects of acute vs. repeated inescapable stressful experiences on LTP in both structures. Results show that B, like DG, sustained LTP for 7 days. Furthermore, a single exposure to moderate stress facilitated LTP in B but did not affect DG LTP. Stress re-exposure inhibited LTP in DG but only long-lasting LTP (>3 days) in B. Behaviourally, animals exhibited a higher immobility when re-exposed to the stressor than with a single/first exposure. These data support a role for B in memory storage. Furthermore, they support a differential involvement of the amygdala and hippocampus in memory formation and storage depending on the emotional characteristics of the experience.

Review of General Psychology, 2012

The challenge of understanding another person and what it takes to truly feel understood by anoth... more The challenge of understanding another person and what it takes to truly feel understood by another is at the hub of human social existence. Psychodramatic role reversal is a related method, rooted in classical role theory, in which two individuals each take the role of the other in an interpersonal situation and actually behave as if one is the other, before returning to their primary selves. In this exercise, every member of the dyad has to overcome both physical constraints and the natural tendency to adhere to one's own viewpoint. This requires empathic abilities as well as creative imagination. Simultaneous holding of two mental representations, one's own and another's, may be a mechanism by which this task could be achieved. Psychological and neurobiological research is presented in favor of this assumption and the concept of creative empathy is introduced as a target for future quantitative and qualitative studies.

Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences the Amygdala in Brain Function Basic and Clinical Approaches, 2003

Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie

ABSTRACT

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2014

ABSTRACT

Concepts of Long-term Potentiation and Beyond, 2000

Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie, 2014

ABSTRACT

Neuroscience Letters, 1997

PLOS ONE, 2020

The literature indicates that theatre and drama-based interventions have the potential to improve... more The literature indicates that theatre and drama-based interventions have the potential to improve older adults' well-being and health. The goal of the current study was to characterize the process of a creative group intervention in adult day centers (ADCs), which integrates playback theatre and life-review principles. Our objective was to provide an evidence-informed framework for drama therapy interventions, which would allow older adults to bring up and explore their life-stories in a dramatic creative process in their own community. A total of 27 participants ranging in age from 63 to 91, took part in one of three playback theatre groups. The playback theatre group intervention comprised 12 weekly sessions. All sessions were videotaped to capture the lived experience of the creative process and were analyzed in post-intervention interviews. In addition, focus group meetings were conducted with 13 ADC staff members to decipher further the effects of the participation as perceived by people outside the groups. Three types of potential transformation were identified in the qualitative analysis: the evolution of life stories, evolution of playfulness, and expansion of social engagement. The results indicate the potential of the integrative framework to serve as a creative intervention in ADC communities, as well as its potential to bring about a personal transformation and expand it to enable a person's social engagement in the community. The findings imply the potential benefits of using playback theatre groups to supplement the routine care provided in ADCs.

The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2014

Reviews in the Neurosciences, 2001

Brain Research Reviews, 2004

The amygdala has been implicated in a variety of functions, ranging from attention to memory to e... more The amygdala has been implicated in a variety of functions, ranging from attention to memory to emotion. In theories about the amygdala's role in conditioned fear, the lateral amygdala (LA) is the primary, perhaps unique, interface for incoming conditioned sensory stimuli and the central nucleus is the major output station. Recent studies indicate, however, that amygdala output pathways may be dissociated as a function of the type of conditioned fear behavior. Based on behavioral, electrophysiological and anatomical evidence, the present discussion proposes a modification of the traditional model of input pathways to the amygdala such that the LA activation as a sensory interface is limited to relatively simple, unimodal conditioned stimulus features whereas the basal amygdaloid nucleus (B) may serve as an amygdaloid sensory interface for complex, configural conditioned stimulus information. We further argue that the partition of amygdalar nuclei according to a complexity dimension appears to correspond both for input and output pathways and thus constitutes a common organizing factor in the functional anatomy of the amygdala. The extensive intra-amygdala wiring is assumed to underlie the computations necessary to perform behavioral decisions of various levels of complexity. Collectively, these results endow the amygdala with a more sophisticated role in guiding motivation and behavior.

The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2011

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2006

A variety of findings suggest that the amygdala and the hippocampus represent two rather differen... more A variety of findings suggest that the amygdala and the hippocampus represent two rather different but interacting memory systems. Of significant interest is their interaction during stress, which may help explain the controversial and sometimes confusing effects of stress on memory, with stress sometimes enhancing, impairing, or having no effect on memory or long‐term potentiation (LTP).1, 2 LTP is one type of synaptic plasticity that has been implicated in some forms of hippocampus‐ and amygdala‐dependent memory processing. Consistent with a dynamic interactive view of amygdala and hippocampus function, the present series of experiments examined their possible simultaneous activation by the direct projections from the entorhinal cortex (EC). In addition, we studied the effects of novel vs. familiar stress on immobility and simultaneously induced LTP in the amygdala and hippocampus. Stimulation of EC evoked in the amygdaloid basal nucleus (B) and in the dentate gyrus (DG), field potentials consisting of negative‐positive and positive‐negative waveforms, respectively. Theta burst stimulation of the EC induced late‐phase LTP simultaneously in B and in DG. However, the mechanisms involved differ between the two areas as the NMDA receptor antagonist CPP blocked LTP in the DG but not in B. In light of the known functional interactions between the basolateral amygdala complex (comprised of lateral, basal, and accessory basal nuclei) and the DG, the results suggest a coordinating role for the EC by simultaneously modulating activity and plasticity in these structures. Furthermore, the ability of both areas to sustain late‐phase LTP supports a role for both in memory formation, albeit of different types and mechanisms. It is know that certain types of stress suppress hippocampal LTP as well as hippocampal‐dependent memory processes. However, the effects of stress on the amygdala are less known. Since the amygdala is recognized to mediate stress responses, stress may have opposite effects on amygdala activity and plasticity. In a preliminary set of experiments, we compared the effects of stress on simultaneously induced LTP in B and DG. A mild stress was induced by placing rats on a platform in a circular pool in a brightly lightened room. Stress consisted of either a single exposure (‘novel stress’) or two exposures on two consecutive days (‘repeated stress’). Immobility was higher in the ‘repeated stress’ rats than in the ‘novel stress’ group. Preliminary results suggest that novel stress facilitates both early‐ and late‐phase LTP in B but has little effect on LTP in DG. In contrast, repeated stress inhibits late‐LTP in B as well as both early‐ and late‐LTP in DG. Collectively, these results suggest novel stress to be a learning‐supporting situation, whereas repeated stress may induce a depressive‐like status in which learning and memory are hampered. Furthermore, the results point to the possibility that the relative involvement of the amygdala and hippocampus in memory formation differs depending on the emotional context of the experience

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2006

European Journal of Neuroscience, 2004

Stress impairs hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a model of synaptic plasticity that is a... more Stress impairs hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a model of synaptic plasticity that is assumed to underlie memory formation. In the amygdala, little is known about the effects of stress on LTP, or about its longevity. Here we assessed the ability of entorhinal cortex (EC) stimulation to induce LTP simultaneously in the basal amygdaloid nucleus (B) and in the dentate gyrus (DG) of freely behaving Wistar rats. We also tested whether LTP persists over days. Once established, we investigated the effects of acute vs. repeated inescapable stressful experiences on LTP in both structures. Results show that B, like DG, sustained LTP for 7 days. Furthermore, a single exposure to moderate stress facilitated LTP in B but did not affect DG LTP. Stress re-exposure inhibited LTP in DG but only long-lasting LTP (>3 days) in B. Behaviourally, animals exhibited a higher immobility when re-exposed to the stressor than with a single/first exposure. These data support a role for B in memory storage. Furthermore, they support a differential involvement of the amygdala and hippocampus in memory formation and storage depending on the emotional characteristics of the experience.

Review of General Psychology, 2012

The challenge of understanding another person and what it takes to truly feel understood by anoth... more The challenge of understanding another person and what it takes to truly feel understood by another is at the hub of human social existence. Psychodramatic role reversal is a related method, rooted in classical role theory, in which two individuals each take the role of the other in an interpersonal situation and actually behave as if one is the other, before returning to their primary selves. In this exercise, every member of the dyad has to overcome both physical constraints and the natural tendency to adhere to one's own viewpoint. This requires empathic abilities as well as creative imagination. Simultaneous holding of two mental representations, one's own and another's, may be a mechanism by which this task could be achieved. Psychological and neurobiological research is presented in favor of this assumption and the concept of creative empathy is introduced as a target for future quantitative and qualitative studies.

Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences the Amygdala in Brain Function Basic and Clinical Approaches, 2003

Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie

ABSTRACT

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2014

ABSTRACT

Concepts of Long-term Potentiation and Beyond, 2000

Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie, 2014

ABSTRACT

Neuroscience Letters, 1997

PLOS ONE, 2020

The literature indicates that theatre and drama-based interventions have the potential to improve... more The literature indicates that theatre and drama-based interventions have the potential to improve older adults' well-being and health. The goal of the current study was to characterize the process of a creative group intervention in adult day centers (ADCs), which integrates playback theatre and life-review principles. Our objective was to provide an evidence-informed framework for drama therapy interventions, which would allow older adults to bring up and explore their life-stories in a dramatic creative process in their own community. A total of 27 participants ranging in age from 63 to 91, took part in one of three playback theatre groups. The playback theatre group intervention comprised 12 weekly sessions. All sessions were videotaped to capture the lived experience of the creative process and were analyzed in post-intervention interviews. In addition, focus group meetings were conducted with 13 ADC staff members to decipher further the effects of the participation as perceived by people outside the groups. Three types of potential transformation were identified in the qualitative analysis: the evolution of life stories, evolution of playfulness, and expansion of social engagement. The results indicate the potential of the integrative framework to serve as a creative intervention in ADC communities, as well as its potential to bring about a personal transformation and expand it to enable a person's social engagement in the community. The findings imply the potential benefits of using playback theatre groups to supplement the routine care provided in ADCs.

A Review of Drama, Creativity and Intersubjectivity: The Roots of Change in Dramatherapy by Salvo... more A Review of
Drama, Creativity and Intersubjectivity: The Roots of Change in
Dramatherapy
by Salvo Pitruzzella
New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. 148 pp.