Ifat Levy, PhD
Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Comparative Medicine and Vice Chair for Diversity, Inclusion and EquityDownloadHi-Res Photo
Cards
Appointments
Comparative Medicine
Primary
Department of Psychology
Secondary
Additional Titles
Co-director, Science Fellows Program
Contact Info
Comparative Medicine
PO Box 208016
New Haven, CT 06520-8016
United States
Appointments
Comparative Medicine
Primary
Department of Psychology
Secondary
Additional Titles
Co-director, Science Fellows Program
Contact Info
Comparative Medicine
PO Box 208016
New Haven, CT 06520-8016
United States
Appointments
Comparative Medicine
Primary
Department of Psychology
Secondary
Additional Titles
Co-director, Science Fellows Program
Contact Info
Comparative Medicine
PO Box 208016
New Haven, CT 06520-8016
United States
About
Titles
Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Comparative Medicine and Vice Chair for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity
Co-director, Science Fellows Program
Biography
I am interested in the neural mechanisms underlying decision-making in humans, in individual differences in these mechanisms, and in the possible contribution of decision traits to pathological behavior. Our research focuses on decision-making under uncertainty, and on value learning and encoding. To study these topics we combine behavioral economics methods with functional MRI, as well as eye tracking and physiological measurements.
Appointments
Comparative Medicine
ProfessorPrimaryDepartment of Psychology
ProfessorSecondaryNeuroscience
Associate Professor on TermSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Comparative Medicine
- Decision Neuroscience Lab
- Department of Psychology
- Diabetes Research Center
- Discovery to Cure Internship
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
- MR Center
- Neuroscience
- Neuroscience Track
- VA National Center for PTSD
- Wu Tsai Institute
- Yale Center for Molecular and Systems Metabolism (YMSM)
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- PhD
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2004)
- LLB
- Tel Aviv University (1997)
- BS
- Tel Aviv University, Physics (1994)
Research
Overview
- Risk and ambiguity in the negative domain – examining behavior and neural activation for decision in terms of risk and ambiguity between outcomes that include losses.
- Behavior and neural correlates of decision under risk and ambiguity across the lifespan.
- Decision parameters in obese and lean individuals – comparing attitudes towards decision parameters such as risk and ambiguity in different BMI groups.
- Implicit learning of value - behavior and neural correlates of value learning in conditioning paradigms and their relationship to choice processes.
- Representation of food in obese and lean subjects - how is food that is depicted in movies perceived and how does it affect choice.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Basal Ganglia; Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms; Central Nervous System; Cerebral Cortex
ORCID
0000-0001-7851-9070- View Lab Website
Decision Neuroscience Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Ifat Levy's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Ifat Levy's research output by year.
Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, PhD, ABPP
Or Duek, PhD
Nachshon Korem
John Krystal, MD
Charles Gordon
Chadi Abdallah, MD
36Publications
1,172Citations
Publications
2024
Individual differences in information demand have a low dimensional structure predicted by some curiosity traits.
Jach H, Cools R, Frisvold A, Grubb M, Hartley C, Hartmann J, Hunter L, Jia R, de Lange F, Larisch R, Lavelle-Hill R, Levy I, Li Y, van Lieshout L, Nussenbaum K, Ravaioli S, Wang S, Wilson R, Woodford M, Murayama K, Gottlieb J. Individual differences in information demand have a low dimensional structure predicted by some curiosity traits. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2024, 121: e2415236121. PMID: 39467138, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2415236121.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCognitive tasksPersonality trait measuresTraits of opennessCuriosity traitsPersonality psychologyEmotional processingPersonality measuresPersonality traitsTrait measuresAssociated with curiosityCuriosity measuresIndividual differencesTested multiple aspectsJoyous explorationCognitive scienceDeprivation sensitivityHuman learningPersonsTraitsTaskDimensional structureInformation demandPersonality metricsMultiple aspectsPsychologyRepresentation of Anticipated Rewards and Punishments in the Human Brain.
Ben-Zion Z, Levy I. Representation of Anticipated Rewards and Punishments in the Human Brain. Annual Review Of Psychology 2024 PMID: 39418537, DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-022324-042614.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsNeural representationReward valuePunishment valueRepresentation of reward valueValue-based decision-makingStress-related psychopathologySubjective reward valueCross-species studiesPunishment processingAnticipated rewardsReward typeBrain regionsSubjective valueMental illnessNeural encodingAnimal researchHuman brainRewardHuman studiesBrainPunishmentMethodological challengesPsychopathologyDecision-makingNeuroeconomicsAffective Motivations for Substance Misuse Differentially Relate to Consideration of Multiple Costs During Effortful Decision Making
Ruiz S, Levy I, Baskin-Sommers A. Affective Motivations for Substance Misuse Differentially Relate to Consideration of Multiple Costs During Effortful Decision Making. Journal Of Psychopathology And Clinical Science 2024, 133: 554-564. PMID: 39101939, DOI: 10.1037/abn0000931.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsSubstance useEffort Expenditure for Rewards TaskEffortful decision makingDiverse community sampleReward taskNegative affectPositive affectCommunity sampleComputational model parametersDifferential relationsHeightened sensitivityAffecting motivationDecision makingAffectLoss magnitudeMotivationCost informationIndividualsSubstancesLikelihood of lossTaskMakingEffective decision makingUseMultiple costsAmygdala Cannabinoid 1 Receptor, Pain Response, and Emotional Numbing in Trauma-Exposed Individuals
Korem N, Hillmer A, D’Souza D, Nia A, Levy I, Pietrzak R, Harpaz-Rotem I. Amygdala Cannabinoid 1 Receptor, Pain Response, and Emotional Numbing in Trauma-Exposed Individuals. JAMA Network Open 2024, 7: e2432387. PMID: 39250156, PMCID: PMC11385051, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.32387.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsCerebellar Contributions to Traumatic Autobiographical Memory in People with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Blithikioti C, Duek O, Gordon C, Krystal J, Levy I, Harpaz-Rotem I, Schiller D, Perl O. Cerebellar Contributions to Traumatic Autobiographical Memory in People with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Cerebellum 2024, 1-9. PMID: 39180693, DOI: 10.1007/s12311-024-01731-9.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsPost-traumatic stress disorderFunctional magnetic resonance imagingRight cerebellar lobule VICerebellar lobule VIAutobiographical memoryTraumatic eventsAutobiographical recallStress disorderLobule VIRe-experiencing of traumatic eventsChronic post-traumatic stress disorderDebilitating mental health conditionPTSD pathophysiologyProcessing negative emotionsNegative affective statesCerebellar Crus IIMental health conditionsCerebellar engagementRe-experiencingTrauma exposureCerebellar contributionReactivity paradigmNegative emotionsAffective statesCrus IIPost-treatment alterations in white matter integrity in PTSD: Effects on symptoms and functional connectivity a secondary analysis of an RCT
Korem N, Duek O, Ben-Zion Z, Spiller T, Gordon C, Amen S, Levy I, Harpaz-Rotem I. Post-treatment alterations in white matter integrity in PTSD: Effects on symptoms and functional connectivity a secondary analysis of an RCT. Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging 2024, 343: 111864. PMID: 39111111, DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2024.111864.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsReduced resting-state functional connectivityPost-traumatic stress disorderPost-traumatic stress disorder symptomsFunctional connectivityPost-treatment changesReducing PTSD symptom severityFollow-up changesResting-state functional connectivityIntensive exposure therapyExposure-based psychotherapyVentromedial prefrontal cortexPTSD symptom severityReduced structural connectivityFunctional connectivity patternsPost-treatmentWhite matter integrityPrefrontal cortexExposure therapyPTSD symptomsStress disorderSymptom severityUncinate fasciculusLimbic systemSecondary analysisAssociated with sustained changesUnpacking workplace stress and forensic expert decision-making: From theory to practice
Almazrouei M, Kukucka J, Morgan R, Levy I. Unpacking workplace stress and forensic expert decision-making: From theory to practice. Forensic Science International Synergy 2024, 8: 100473. PMID: 38737991, PMCID: PMC11087230, DOI: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2024.100473.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric351. High-Threshold-Low-Tolerance: A Model for the Emotionality Paradox in PTSD
Korem N, Duek O, Spiller T, Ben-Zion Z, Levy I, Harpaz-Rotem I. 351. High-Threshold-Low-Tolerance: A Model for the Emotionality Paradox in PTSD. Biological Psychiatry 2024, 95: s243. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.02.850.Peer-Reviewed Original Research320. A Preliminary Investigation of Risk and Ambiguity Attitudes in Adult Patients With Bulimia Nervosa
Rich A, Levy I, Aimufua I, Konova A, Walsh B, Hagan K. 320. A Preliminary Investigation of Risk and Ambiguity Attitudes in Adult Patients With Bulimia Nervosa. Biological Psychiatry 2024, 95: s231. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.02.819.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsEmotional State Transitions in Trauma-Exposed Individuals With and Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Korem N, Duek O, Spiller T, Ben-Zion Z, Levy I, Harpaz-Rotem I. Emotional State Transitions in Trauma-Exposed Individuals With and Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. JAMA Network Open 2024, 7: e246813. PMID: 38625701, PMCID: PMC11022112, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.6813.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPosttraumatic stress disorderTrauma-exposed individualsEmotional numbing symptomsTrauma-exposed controlsNegative emotional statesNumbing symptomsEmotional numbingDSM-5Valence ratingsStress disorderEmotional statesTrauma-exposed control groupPTSD experiencesPosttraumatic stress disorder symptomsPosttraumatic Stress Disorder ChecklistDSM-5 criteriaAge-related associationsStimulus valencePCL-5Emotional responsesEmotional state transitionEmotional transitionSymptomsParticipantsDisorders
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Using Neuroimaging to track symptom change in PTSD treatment
HIC ID2000025892RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date07/31/2029Recruiting ParticipantsStudying the Adult Brain
HIC ID2000025671RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date07/31/2025Recruiting ParticipantsIntensive 7-day Treatment for PTSD Combining Ketamine With Exposure Therapy (PTSD)
HIC ID1509016530RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date08/01/2030Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge21 years - 70 yearsBiomarkers of Clinical Subtype and Treatment Response in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
HIC ID0803003626RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date04/19/2025Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge18 years - 70 years
News & Links
News
- August 12, 2024Source: Yale News
Insights & Outcomes: Sea scorpions, delusions, and forensics-related stress
- January 02, 2024
Duek, Harpaz-Rotem Paper Named '2023 Leading Research Achievement' by BBRF
- December 03, 2023
Comparative Medicine DEI Highlight
- November 30, 2023
Neural Patterns Differentiate Traumatic From Sad Autobiographical Memories in PTSD
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Comparative Medicine
PO Box 208016
New Haven, CT 06520-8016
United States
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Decision Neuroscience Lab
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New Haven, CT 06510
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203.737.2779Decision Neuroscience Lab
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