Moshe Abeles
Moshe Abeles | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1936 Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine |
| Occupation(s) | Neuroscientist, Neurophysiologist |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Known for | Synfire chain theory, research on cerebral cortex circuitry |
Moshe Abeles (; born 1936 in Tel Aviv) is a prominent Israeli neuroscientist and neurophysiologist. He holds emeritus professorships at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Life Sciences Faculty of Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan.
Biography
Born in 1936 in Tel Aviv during the period of Mandatory Palestine, Abeles is the son of Dr. Walter Abeles, a physician, political figure, and diplomat who managed Jerusalem's Clalit Health Services and represented Israel as ambassador to Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. His mother, Cecilia Nehamkis, was a fashion designer and volunteered as a sewing instructor for underprivileged girls in Jerusalem.
In 1947, Abeles relocated to Jerusalem where he attended the Hebrew University Secondary School. Following his service in the Nahal paratrooper unit, he commenced medical studies at Hebrew University in 1956. Demonstrating strong aptitude in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, he gradually developed an interest in physiology and transitioned to research after four years.
Abeles obtained his M.Sc degree in 1960 with a thesis on how respiration affects EEG patterns under the guidance of Professor Yonathan Magnes, who also supervised his doctoral dissertation completed in 1966 focusing on mechanisms underlying EEG synchronization.
From 1977 to 1980 and again from 1984 to 1994, he served as director of the Israeli National Institute of Neurobiology. He pursued specialization in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, advancing from lecturer to full professor of Neurophysiology at Hebrew University. Additionally, he held leadership roles including Director of Physiology at Hebrew University, Head of the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation, Chair of Life Sciences at the Israel Science Foundation, and Director of the Gonda Brain Research Center at Bar Ilan University.
His scientific work concentrates on functional circuitry within the cerebral cortex. His research outcomes and theoretical models concerning temporal coordination contributed to formulating the "synfire chain theory," which describes information processing through synchronized dynamic neuronal assemblies.
In 2005, Abeles established the Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University, leading it until 2011.
He has authored significant neuroscience publications such as Corticonics: Neural circuits of the cerebral cortex (1991) and Local Cortical Circuits: An Electrophysiological Study (2012).
Researches, articles, books
- Local Cortical Circuits: An Electrophysiological Study, Springer-Verlag, 1982
- Corticonics: Neural Circuits of the Cerebral Cortex, Cambridge University Press, 1991
- with H. Bergman, E. Margalit and E. Vaadia, "Spatiotemporal Firing Patterns in the Frontal Cortex of Behaving Monkeys", J. Neurophysiol. Vol. 70, No. 4, 1993
- with Y. Prut, H. Bergman, E. Vaadia and A. Aertsen, "Integration, Synchronicity and Periodicity", in A. Aertsen (ed.), Brain Theory: Spatio-temporal Aspects of Brain Function, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 149–181, 1993
Prizes and awards
- 1968 - Avigdor Beck Prize recognizing research on EEG neuron excitability
- 1971 - IAPI First Prize for computer-assisted analysis of nerve cell activity
- 2004 - Emet Prize
- 2012 - Inaugural recipient of the Valentino Braitenberg award
External links
- http://www.biu.ac.il/interdis/gondabrain/researchers/ABELES%20MOSHE.html
- Neural compositionality in control: an interdisciplinary analysis of primate scribbling motions Front. Comput. Neurosci., 2013 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fncom.2013.00103
- 2007 Isracast multimedia platform
- Cortical network cascading activity – Max Planck Institute for Brain Research
- Scholarpedia article on Synfire chains