Prof. Segev Barak
Our main focus is on the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms that underlie addiction, with specific emphasis on alcoholism, as well as the learning and memory processes involved in addiction.
Alcohol addiction (alcohol use disorder) is the second most detrimental neuropsychiatric disorder. Four percent of world-wide death is associated with alcohol abuse, and chronic harmful alcohol use is one of the four most common risk factors for multiple diseases. Addiction is thought to be a pathological usurpation of the mechanisms underlying learning and memory. Therefore, we study the learning and memory processes that participate in the development of addiction. We also look for neuroadaptations in the brain that occur in addiction, such as changes in gene expression, in proteins and in signaling pathways, and in neurotransmission.
Behavioral Neuroscience
Brain Disorders Research
Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience
System & Physiological Neuroscience
- Rahamim, N., Liran, M., Aronovici, C., Flumin, H., Gordon, T., Urshansky, N., Barak S. (2024). Inhibition of ERK1/2 or CRMP2 Disrupts Alcohol Memory Reconsolidation and Prevents Relapse in Rats. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(10), 5478; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25105478. PDF
- Grinchii, D., Levin-Greenwald, M., Lezmy, N., Gordon, T., Paliokha, R., Khoury, T., Racicky, M., Herburg, L., Grothe, C., Dremencov, E., Barak, S. (2023). FGF2 activity regulates operant alcohol self-administration and mesolimbic dopamine transmission. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 248, 109920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.109920. PDF
- Goltseker, K., Garay, P., Bonefas, K., Iwase S., Barak S. (2023). Alcohol-specific transcriptional dynamics of memory reconsolidation and relapse. Transl Psychiatry 13, 55. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02352-2. PDF
- Barak, S., Goltseker, K. (2023). New Approaches for Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment via Memory Retrieval and Reconsolidation Manipulations. In: Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
- Goltseker, K., Handrus, H., Barak, S. (2021). Disruption of relapse to alcohol seeking by aversive counterconditioning following memory retrieval. Addiction Biology, 26:e12935 . PDF
- Liran, M., Rahamim, N., Ron, D., & Barak, S. (2020). Growth factors and alcohol use disorder. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine, a039271. PDF
- Maier, H.B., Neyazi, M., Neyazi, A., Hillemacher, T., Pathak, H., Rhein, M., Bleich, S., Goltseker, K., Sadot-Sogrin, Y., Even-Chen, O., Frieling, H., Barak S. (2020). Alcohol consumption alters Gdnf promoter methylation and expression
- Even-Chen O., Barak S. (2019). Inhibition of FGF receptor-1 suppresses alcohol consumption: role of PI3 kinase signaling in dorsomedial striatum. The Journal Of Neuroscience 39 (40), 7947-7957.
- Ziv Y., Rahamim N., Lezmy N., Even Chen O., Shaham, O. Malishkevich A., Giladi E.. Elkon R., Gozes I., Barak S. (2019). Activity-dependent neuroprotective protein is a novel negative regulator of alcohol consumption in female mice. Neuropsychopharmacology, 44(2):415-424
- Even-Chen O., Sadot-Sogrin Y., Shaham O., Barak S. (2017). Fibroblast growth factor 2 in the dorsomedial striatum is a novel positive regulator of alcohol consumption. The Journal Of Neuroscience 37(36):8742-8754.
- Ron D., Barak S. (2016). Molecular mechanisms underlying alcohol-drinking behaviours. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 17: 576-591.
- Goltseker K., Bolotin L., Barak S. (2017). Counterconditioning during reconsolidation prevents relapse of cocaine memories. Neuropsychopharmacology 42(3):716-726 .https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2022_411. PDF in rats. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 121: 1-9. PDF
