Dr. Aviva Berkovich-Ohana led a great conversation as the guest speaker for Embodied Underground (EU) at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education. In her research she uses neurophenomenology as a means to study human consciousness. During her time with us she facilitated a meditation exercise to help attendees experience the boundaries of the self. She also discussed the oscillating cortical “task-on” vs “task-off” networks of the brain.
Berkovich-Ohana, A., Dor-Ziderman, Y., Trautwein, F.-M., Schweitzer, Y., Nave, O., Fulder, S., & Ataria, Y. (2020). The hitchhiker’s guide to neurophenomenology – The case of studying self boundaries with meditators [Hypothesis and Theory]. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(1680). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01680
After studying Biology (BSc and MSc), Aviva Berkovich-Ohana completed her PhD in Neuroscience at Bar-Ilan University, and trained as a post-doctorate fellow at the lab of Prof. Rafi Malach at the Weizmann Institute. Currently a senior lecturer at the University of Haifa, Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, and Faculty of Education. Her research focuses on two main topics. One topic is contemplative mental training effects and their relevance to education. Another focus is the study of consciousness and sense of self. To this end, she collaborates with long-term contemplative practitioners, employing neurophenomenology.