Avishai Henik

Avishai Henik was born in Tel Aviv in 1945. He received his undergraduate degree in psychology and education from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 1971. He then moved to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to study for his MA and PhD degrees under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman. He received his PhD in 1979. In 1980, Henik received a Rothschild post-doctoral fellowship and spent two years in Eugene, Oregon, in the laboratory of Michael I. Posner, considered a leading pioneer in building the field of cognitive neuroscience, and the neuropsychology laboratory led by Michael I. Posner and Oscar S.M. Marin in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.

Henik began as a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 1979 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1984, then to Associate Professor in 1992, and a full professor in 1996. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev endowed him with the Zlotowski Chair in Cognitive Neuropsychology in 1999 and a Distinguished Professor degree in 2014.{{cite web|title=Distinguished Professor|url=http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/Pages/news/henik_distinguished.aspx}} He is currently continuing his research as an emeritus distinguished professor.

Henik heads the Cognitive Neuropsychology Laboratory.{{cite web|title=Cognitive Neuropsychology Laboratory|url=http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/Labs/CNL/Pages/staff/AvishaiHenik.aspx}} His work is multidisciplinary—he studies mental operations, which serve as building blocks for a given cognitive function, as well as the brain tissues involved in these operations. His early works focused on single word processing and the Stroop effect and later on visual spatial attention, numerical cognition, dyscalculia, emotions, and synesthesia. He has written over 200 articles, in addition to an edited book entitled, Continuous Issues in Numerical Cognition: How Many or How Much.{{cite book|last1=Henik|first1=A. (Ed.).|title=Continuous issues in numerical cognition: How many or how much|date=2016|publisher=Academic Press|location=San Diego, CA|url=http://store.elsevier.com/Continuous-Issues-in-Numerical-Cognition/isbn-9780128016374/}}

Henik was the instigator and chair of a multidisciplinary think-tank sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Education whose function was to better understand the crossroads where neuroscience, cognitive science, and education meet. The aim was to identify developments in the field and their ramifications for education. In 2012,{{cite web|title=ERC advanced researcher grant 2012|url=http://in.bgu.ac.il/Pages/news/numerical_cognition%20.aspx}} Henik won a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Researcher Grant to study the role of size perception and evaluation in numerical cognition. In this research, he focused on behavioral studies of the typical and atypical development of numerical concepts, imaging studies, and work on lower animals (i.e., Archerfish, which can evaluate size but do not have a cerebral cortex that is thought to be central in arithmetic) and examination of computational aspects of development through evolutionary algorithms.

Henik started his work on attention under the supervision of Daniel Kahneman in the middle of the 1970s. Kahneman and Henik published two papers on selective attention, one of which has been heavily cited throughout the years.{{cite journal|last1=Kahneman|first1=D|last2=Henik|first2=A|title=Perceptual organization and attention|journal=Perceptual Organization|date=1981|volume=1|pages=181–211}} Since then, Henik studied the neurocognitive mechanisms that underlie orienting of visual-spatial attention and selective attention. Studies conducted in his laboratory and collaboration with other researchers (e.g., Robert Rafal) documented the distinction between the involuntary-exogenous and the voluntary-endogenous attentional systems, the cortical and subcortical neural structures that subserve these systems, and developmental trajectories in attention. His studies, on patients{{cite journal|last1=Sapir|first1=A|last2=Soroker|first2=N|last3=Berger|first3=A|last4=Henik|first4=A|title=Inhibition of return in spatial attention: Direct evidence for collicular generation|journal=Nature Neuroscience|date=1999|volume=2|issue=12|pages=1053–1054|pmid=10570480|doi=10.1038/15977|s2cid=10960916}} as well as the archerfish,{{cite journal|last1=Gabay|first1=S|last2=Leibovich|first2=T|last3=Ben-Simon|first3=A|last4=Henik|first4=A|last5=Segev|first5=R|title=Inhibition of return in the archer fish|journal=Nature Communications|date=2013|volume=4|doi=10.1038/ncomms2644|pages=1657|pmid=23552072|bibcode=2013NatCo...4.1657G|doi-access=free}} documented the role of subcortical structures (e.g., superior colliculus) in inhibition of return (IOR). His research on selective attention uses a range of tasks like the Stroop,{{cite journal|last1=Goldfarb|first1=L|last2=Henik|first2=A|title=Evidence for task conflict in the Stroop effect|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance|date=2007|volume=33|issue=5|pages=1170–1176|doi=10.1037/0096-1523.33.5.1170|pmid=17924815}} flanker,{{cite journal|last1=Weinbach|first1=N|last2=Henik|first2=A|s2cid=10775885|title=The relationship between alertness and executive control|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance|date=2012|volume=38|issue=6|pages=1530–1540|doi=10.1037/a0027875|pmid=22468726}} and the stop-signal task,{{cite journal|last1=Kalanthroff|first1=E|last2=Goldfarb|first2=L|last3=Henik|first3=A|title=Evidence for interaction between the stop-signal and the Stroop task conflict|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance|date=2013|volume=39|issue=2|pages=579–592|doi=10.1037/a0027429|pmid=22390293}} which require selection and control over habitual responding. This research led Henik to study cognitive control and executive functions.

Henik's research in this area aims at understanding the development of goal-directed behavior and self-regulation. Research in his laboratory has shown that cognitive control and emotional regulation could work in top-down or bottom-up pathways. Emotions, commonly thought to involve subcortical structures (e.g., amygdala), can be regulated by cognitive control (that involves higher brain structures in the cerebral cortex){{cite journal|last1=Cohen|first1=N|last2=Henik|first2=A|last3=Mor|first3=N|title=Can emotion modulate attention? Evidence for reciprocal links in the attentional network test.|journal=Experimental Psychology|date=2011|volume=58|issue=3|pages=171–179|doi=10.1027/1618-3169/a000083|pmid=20705545}}{{cite journal|last1=Cohen|first1=N|last2=Margulies|first2=D. S|last3=Ashkenazi|first3=S|last4=Schaefer|first4=A|last5=Taubert|first5=M|last6=Henik|first6=A|last7=Villringer|first7=A|last8=Okon-Singer|first8=H|title=Using executive control training to suppress amygdala reactivity to aversive information|journal=NeuroImage|date=2016|volume=125|pages=1022–1031|doi=10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.10.069|pmid=26520770|s2cid=10284120}} and are affected by training.{{cite journal|last1=Cohen|first1=N|last2=Mor|first2=N|last3=Henik|first3=A|title=Linking executive control and emotional response: A training procedure to reduce rumination|journal=Clinical Psychological Science|date=2015|volume=3|pages=15–25|doi=10.1177/2167702614530114|s2cid=144424156}} Moreover, attentional alerting (thought to involve subcortical brain structures) was found to modulate cognitive control / executive functions.

Henik studies the building blocks of numerical cognition and developmental dyscalculia{{cite journal|last1=Rubinsten|first1=O|last2=Henik|first2=A|title=Developmental dyscalculia: Heterogeneity may not mean different mechanisms.|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|date=2009|volume=13|issue=2|pages=92–99|doi=10.1016/j.tics.2008.11.002|pmid=19138550|s2cid=205394589}}—a specific deficiency in arithmetic that is similar in nature and prevalence to dyslexia. Together with Joseph Tzelgov, Henik designed the numerical Stroop task and showed (a) the intimate relationship between sizes and numbers, and (b) the fact that numerical values are processed automatically even when completely irrelevant to the task. In subsequent years, it was found that performance in the numerical Stroop task depends on knowledge of the numerical system,{{cite journal|last1=Rubinsten|first1=O|last2=Henik|first2=A|last3=Berger|first3=A|last4=Shahar-Shalev|first4=S|title=The development of internal representations of magnitude and their association with Arabic numerals|journal=Journal of Experimental Child Psychology|date=2002|volume=81|issue=1|pages=74–92|doi=10.1006/jecp.2001.2645|pmid=11741375}} involves specific brain areas (i.e., the cortical intraparietal sulcus),{{cite journal|last1=Cohen Kadosh|first1=R|last2=Cohen Kadosh|first2=K|last3=Linden|first3=D. E. J|last4=Gevers|first4=W|last5=Berger|first5=A|last6=Henik|first6=A|title=The brain locus of interaction between number and size: A combined functional magnetic resonance imaging and event-related potential study|journal=Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience|date=2007|volume=19|issue=6|pages=957–970|doi=10.1162/jocn.2007.19.6.957|pmid=17536966|citeseerx=10.1.1.459.2779|s2cid=17251825}} and is compromised in developmental dyscalculia{{cite journal|last1=Rubinsten|first1=O|last2=Henik|first2=A|title=Double dissociation of functions in developmental dyslexia and dyscalculia|journal=Journal of Educational Psychology|date=2006|volume=98|issue=4|pages=854–867|doi=10.1037/0022-0663.98.4.854}}{{cite journal|last1=Rubinsten|first1=O|last2=Henik|first2=A|title=Automatic activation of internal magnitudes: A study of developmental dyscalculia|journal=Neuropsychology|date=2005|volume=19|issue=5|pages=641–648|doi=10.1037/0894-4105.19.5.641|pmid=16187882}}{{cite journal|last1=Cohen Kadosh|first1=R|last2=Cohen Kadosh|first2=K|last3=Schuhmann|first3=T|last4=Kaas|first4=A|last5=Goebel|first5=R|last6=Henik|first6=A|last7=Sack|first7=A. T.|title=Virtual dyscalculia induced by parietal-lobe TMS impairs automatic magnitude processing|journal=Current Biology|date=2007|volume=17|issue=8|pages=689–693|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2007.02.056|pmid=17379521|s2cid=18084538|doi-access=free}} and acalculia.{{cite journal|last1=Ashkenazi|first1=S|last2=Henik|first2=A|last3=Ifergane|first3=G|last4=Shelef|first4=I|title=Basic numerical processing in left intraparietal sulcus (IPS) acalculia.|journal=Cortex|date=2008|volume=44|issue=4|pages=439–448|doi=10.1016/j.cortex.2007.08.008|pmid=18387576|s2cid=11505775}} In recent years Henik pointed out the importance of non-countable dimensions (e.g., which object is larger in size, how much water is in the glass) to numerical cognition. In recent publications,{{Cite journal|last1=Henik|first1=Avishai|last2=Gliksman|first2=Yarden|last3=Kallai|first3=Arava|last4=Leibovich|first4=Tali|date=2017-02-01|title=Size Perception and the Foundation of Numerical Processing|journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science|language=en|volume=26|issue=1|pages=45–51|doi=10.1177/0963721416671323|s2cid=151744373|issn=0963-7214}}{{Cite journal|last1=Leibovich|first1=Tali|last2=Katzin|first2=Naama|last3=Harel|first3=Maayan|last4=Henik|first4=Avishai|date=2016|title=From 'sense of number' to 'sense of magnitude' – The role of continuous magnitudes in numerical cognition|journal=Behavioral and Brain Sciences|volume=40|pages=e164|doi=10.1017/s0140525x16000960|pmid=27530053|doi-access=free}} Henik and colleagues suggested the existence of a magnitude sense rather than a number sense, with the former based on the ability to perceive and evaluate non-countable dimensions (e.g., size). Henik and colleagues edited three books in numerical cognition. One dealt with the role of continuous dimensions,{{Cite web|url=https://www.elsevier.com/books/continuous-issues-in-numerical-cognition/henik/978-0-12-801637-4|title=Continuous Issues in Numerical Cognition - 1st Edition|website=www.elsevier.com|access-date=2019-02-20}} one with heterogeneity of functions involved in numerical cognition,{{Cite web|url=https://www.elsevier.com/books/heterogeneity-of-function-in-numerical-cognition/henik/978-0-12-811529-9|title=Heterogeneity of Function in Numerical Cognition - 1st Edition|website=www.elsevier.com|access-date=2019-02-20}} and one with learning and education in mathematical cognition.{{Cite web|title=Heterogeneous Contributions to Numerical Cognition - 1st Edition|url=https://www.elsevier.com/books/heterogeneous-contributions-to-numerical-cognition/fias/978-0-12-817414-2|access-date=2021-06-21|website=www.elsevier.com}}

It has been suggested that synesthesia can serve as a window to understanding crucial issues in object perception such as feature binding, and that it documents cross-talk between supposedly separate systems (e.g., vision and audition). In studies of synesthesia, Henik and his colleagues combined behavioral and brain imaging techniques{{cite journal|last1=Cohen Kadosh|first1=R|last2=Henik|first2=A|title=Can synaesthesia research inform cognitive science?|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|date=2007|volume=11|issue=4|pages=177–184|doi=10.1016/j.tics.2007.01.003|pmid=17331789|s2cid=15110735}}{{cite journal|last1=Cohen Kadosh|first1=R|last2=Cohen Kadosh|first2=K|last3=Henik|first3=A|title=The neuronal correlate of bi-directional synaesthesia: A combined ERP and fMRI study|journal=Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience|date=2007|volume=19|issue=12|pages=2050–2059|doi=10.1162/jocn.2007.19.12.2050|pmid=17999607|s2cid=1655542|url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/2934/|url-access=subscription}} as well as harnessed other techniques (e.g., hypnosis) in order to examine fundamental issues in the field.{{cite journal|last1=Cohen Kadosh|first1=R|last2=Henik|first2=A|last3=Catena|first3=A|last4=Walsh|first4=V|last5=Fuentes|first5=L. J.|title=Induced virtual cross-modal synesthetic experience without abnormal neuronal connections|journal=Psychological Science|date=2009|volume=20|issue=2|pages=258–265|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02286.x|pmid=19175754|s2cid=10090057}}

• 2017 - Excellent Mentor Prize, awarded by the Israel Society for Neuroscience (ISFN) for exceptional mentoring in neuroscience.
• 2018 - Humboldt Research Award, awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, in recognition of accomplishments in research and teaching.{{Cite web|url=https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/pls/web/pub_hn_query.humboldtianer_details?p_externe_id=4100470&p_lang=en&p_pattern=|title=Prof. Dr. Avishai Henik - Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung|website=www.humboldt-foundation.de|access-date=2019-05-29}}
• 2020 - FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence Mentoring Prize 2020, awarded by the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and the Kavli Foundation scholars network for demonstrated leadership in fostering the careers of neuroscientists.{{Cite web|title=Ben-Gurion University of the Negev - Prof. (Emer.) Avishai Henik Awarded Prestigious FENS-Kavli Mentoring Prize|url=https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/pages/news/henik_FENS.aspx|access-date=2020-07-14|website=in.bgu.ac.il}}{{Cite web|title=FKNE-mentoring-prize – FKNE|url=http://fenskavlinetwork.org/community-engagement/mentoring/fkne-mentoring-prize/|access-date=2020-07-14|language=en-GB}}

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Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni

Category:Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent

Category:1945 births

Category:Living people

Category:Israeli cognitive scientists

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Category:Scientists from Tel Aviv

Category:European Research Council grantees