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Ravid Doron, Associate Professor

Ravid Doron
Contact Info

The Open University of Israel Department of Education and Psychology 1 University Road P.O.B. 808 Ra’anana 43107, Israel
Office:972-9-7781401 Mobile:972-54-7468589 Email:[email protected]

Dr. Ravid Doron is the head of the Open University Psychobiology Lab in Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem. He is a faculty member of the Department of Education and Psychology at The Open University.
Dr. Doron's laboratory focuses on developing novel herbal treatments for depression and anxiety disorders, based on herbal medicines. His team uses animal models to investigate the behavioral and biological brain mechanisms underlying depression and anxiety.
The overall goal of his lab is to pursue research that will deepen our understanding of the development of psychiatric diseases, in order to generate a significant impact through translating theoretical ideas into clinical reality.

2001 - 2006
PhD, Bar-Ilan University, Neurobiology
Title: The Involvement of the Arcuate Nucleus-Nucleus Accumbens Axis in Psychoactive Drug Addiction Process in Rat's Brain, Supervisor: Prof. Gal Yadid
1997 - 2001
MA, cum laude, Tel Aviv University, Psychobiology
1993 - 1997
BA, The Open University of Israel, Psychology and Sociology

Doron, R. Scientific Editor and the head development team of the twelve edition book: Physiology of behavior (part B), Neil Carlson (2020), The Open University of Israel (Hebrew Edition).

Doron, R. Scientific Editor and the head development team of the twelve edition book: Physiology of behavior (part A), Neil Carlson (2019), The Open University of Israel (Hebrew Edition).

U.S. patent No. 9320772 Herbal composition for preventing and\or treating anxiety and related conditions.

Israeli Patent Application No. 275222 "The Chinese herb Shan-Zha for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders; efficiency, safety.

Alteba S, Mizrachi Zer-Aviv T, Tenenhaus A, Ben David G, Adelman J, Hillard C, Doron R, Akirav I (inn press) Antidepressant effects of URB597 and JZL14 in male and female rats exposed to early life stress, Eur neuropsychopharmacology

Doron R, Versano Z, Burstein O, Franko M,  Shamir A, Toledano R,  Handelsman A, Moshe R (2019) Cerebral MAO activity is not altered by a novel herbal antidepressant treatment. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience (IF2.29) Q1

Dabbah-Assadi F, Alon D, Golani I,Doron R ,Kremer I,Beloosesky R,.Shamir A (2019) The influence of immune activation at early vs late gestation on fetal NRG1-ErbB4 expression and behavior in juvenile and adult mice offspring. Brain Behavior and Immunity

Burstein O,   Doron R. (2018) Assessment of Hedonic Tone Following the Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Mice Model for Depression. Journal of Visualized Experiments (JOVE)

Doron R, Sever A  , Handelsman A, Toledano R, Franko M, Hirshler Y, Shamir A, Burstein O, Rehavi M (2018) GABAA Receptor Density is not Altered by a Novel Herbal Anxiolytic Treatment. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience

Burstein O, Shoshan N,  Doron R* , Akirav I* (2018) Cannabinoids prevent depressive-like symptoms and alterations in BDNF expression in a rat model of PTSD, Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry  84 ,129–139
[Equal contribution]

Sarne y,  Toledano R,  Rachmany L,  Sasson E,  Doron R (2018) Reversal of age-related cognitive impairments in mice by an extremely low dose of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Neurobiology of Aging (IF 5.1) Q1 ,cit 1

Burstein O,  Franko M, Gale E, HandelsmanA, Barak S, Motsan S , Shamir A, ToTledano R , Simhon O , Hirshler Y , Gang Chen G, Doron R (2017) Escitalopram and NHT normalized stress-induced anhedonia and molecular neuroadaptations in a mouse model of depression, PloS ONE 2(11):e0188043. doi: 10.1371

Tadmor H, Golani I, Grozovski M, Doron R,  Kremer I,  Shamir A (2017) ErbB signaling antagonist ameliorate behavioral deficit induced by phencyclidine (PCP) in mice, without affecting metabolic syndrome markers, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry

Hirshler Y, Doron R ( 2017) Neuroplasticity-related mechanisms underlying the antidepressant-like effects of traditional herbal medicines, Eur neuropsychopharmacology

Avitsur R, Paley S, Franko M, Wolff N, Eyal N, Doron R (2017) Escitalopram or novel herbal treatments differentially alter cytokine and behavioral responses to immune challenge. J Neuroimmunol.  15;309:111-118

Wu, R.  Tao, W.   Zhang, H. Xue,w.   Zou, Z. Wu,Baochang Cai,H.  Doron,R.  Chen, G. (2016) Instant and Persistent Antidepressant Response of Gardenia Yellow Pigment Is Associated with Acute Protein Synthesis and Delayed Up-Regulation of BDNF Expression in the Hippocampus. ACS Chemical Neuroscience

Xia B, Zhang H, Xue W, Tao W, Chen C, Wu R, Ren L, Tang J, Wu H, Cai B, Doron R, Chen G. (2016)  Instant and Lasting Down-Regulation of NR1 Expression in the Hippocampus is Associated Temporally with Antidepressant Activity After Acute Yueju. Cell Mol Neurobiol 36(7):1189-96

Yankelevitch-YahavR , Franco M, Huly A, Doron R. (2015) The forced swim test as a model of depressive-like behavior. Journal of Visualized Experiments (JOVE),  2;(97) p.1-7

Doron R, Lotan D, Versano Z, Benatav L, Franko M, Armoza S, Kately N, Rehavi M (2014) Escitalopram or novel herbal mixture treatments during or following exposure to stress reduces anxiety-like behavior through corticosterone and BDNF modifications. PLoS ONE  (4):e91455 p.1-9

Doron R, Lotan D, Einat N, Yaffe R, Winer A, Marom I, Meron G, Kately N, Rehavi M (2014). A novel herbal treatment reduces depressive-like behaviors and increases BDNF levels in the brain of stressed mice. Life science 17;94(2):151-7