Yori Gidron

University of Haifa | haifa · Department of Nursing

Background: Humanitarian aid workers (HAWs) are indirectly exposed to atrocities relating to people of concern (POC). This may result in a risk of secondary traumatization demonstrated by post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs). Previous studies have demonstrated that hemispheric lateralization (HL) moderates the relationship between threat exposure...

Hyperinflammation is one of the most important pathophysiological risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (Covid-19). Low vagal neuro-immune modulation can lead into this kind of immune dysregulation. The association between vagal activity, sex and inflammatory markers were investigated in patients with Covid-19. A...

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a disease that poses a serious health risk. It is important to identify high-risk patients early in the course of their treatment. In the current study, we evaluated the prognostic value of ultra-short heart-rate variability (HRV), an index of vagal nerve activity, in IE. Methods: Retrospective analysis...

Introduction: Compassion, calming down and providing aid are common ways of helping people in need soon after traumatic events. However, such forms of help were seldom tested and other research suggests that active coping may have more positive long-term effects. The SIX C's model was created to provide simple and effective evidence-based Psycholog...

Introduction: Arrival to the emergency room (ER) can increase stress levels in patients and family members. Thus, there is a need for a short and effective form of PFA provided by ER staff members, to reduce acute stress responses (ASR). Past studies have shown that psychological interventions based on emotional expression do not help to regulate e...

Type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) is a common chronic disease and a substantial risk factor of other fatal illnesses. At its core is insulin resistance, where chronic low-level inflammation is among its main causes. Thus, it is crucial to modulate this inflammation. This review paper provides scientific neuroimmunological evidence on the protective r...

Background: Following the earthquake of August 2021 in Haiti, humanitarian agencies provided support to the local population. NATAN, a voluntary based non-governmental organization, had arrived in the field five days after the earthquake and provided medical support based on a mobile clinic in seven villages close to the epicenter of the earthquake...

Background: The two cerebral hemispheres influence the immune response differently. While the left hemisphere enhances cellular immunity, the right hemisphere inhibits it. Objectives: To determine whether immune and inflammatory markers correlated with stroke severity and hospitalization duration as a function of stroke side. Methods: The stud...

Stroke is a leading cause of death worldwide. Multiple factors influence the severity of stroke. Normal functional and biological differences seen between the hemispheres may also be related to stroke severity. In the present study, we examined the differences in the severity of stroke as a function of stroke side, and whether patients’ vagal nerve...

Objective: The association between explicit and implicit psychological measures might be affected by the similarity of the assessment method and by the overlap of the components of the constructs being assessed. This study examined the association between condom use barriers and explicit and implicit measurements of condom use and the moderating r...

This study examined the prognostic role of vagal nerve activity in patients with relapsed/refractory diffused large B-cell lymphoma (R/R-DLBCL) treated with chimeric antigen receptor cell therapy (CAR-T) and in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) undergoing an autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AutoHCT). Participants included 29 patient...

Background The discovery of the importance of the immune system and its role in oncogenesis led to the development of immunotherapy, a treatment that represents a major advance in oncology management. Due to the recent nature of immunotherapy, little is known about its side effects and their impact on quality of life. To date, there is no published...

Objective Identifying new modifiable prognostic markers is important for ovarian cancer (OC). Low parasympathic activity is associated with inflammation, oxidative stress and sympathetic nervous system activation. Previous studies reported that low vagal nerve activity, measured by low heart rate variability (HRV), may predict poor cancer prognosis...

Introduction/Background Finding new modifiable prognostic markers is important in ovarian cancer (OC). The autonomic nervous system plays an important role in cancer initiation and progression. Low parasympathetic nervous system activity is associated with inflammation, oxidative stress and sympathetic activation. Low vagal nerve activity, measured...

The combination of radiotherapy (RT) with immunotherapy represents a promising treatment modality for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. As only a minority of patients shows a persistent response today, a spacious optimization window remains to be explored. Previously we showed that fractionated RT can induce a local immunosuppressive pro...

Background Patients with COVID-19 present with a variety of clinical manifestations, ranging from mild or asymptomatic disease to severe illness and death. Whilst previous studies have clarified these and several other aspects of COVID-19, one of the ongoing challenges regarding COVID-19 is to determine which patients are at risk of adverse outcome...

Objectives The covid-19 pandemic calls for adherence to multiple health behaviours. While authorities mostly use health information to deal with these issues, such an approach may be insufficient. This study examined the effects of a cognitive method, namely psychological inoculation (PI) + health information (experimental) versus health informatio...

Little is known about the association between terrorism and suicide. This study investigates suicide numbers in Flanders, Belgium before and after the Paris-attacks (13/11/2015) and Brussels-attacks (22/03/2016). Population mortality data for suicide were gathered from the Agency for healthcare. Suicides in Flanders, Belgium, were higher after both...

Examining whether Psychological inoculation could increase adherence to health instruction related to the COVID-19, increase resilience and decrease stress.

: ‘Mind–body’ debates assume that better brain–body associations are healthy. This study examined whether degree of associations between a neurophysiological vagal nerve index and peripheral disease biomarkers predict prognosis in pancreatic cancer (PC) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Sample 1 included 272 patients with advanced PC. Sample 2 included...

Little is known about the interplay between the autonomic nervous system and disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS). We examined the relationship between heart rate variability (HRV), a reliable measure of vagal nerve function, and disease characteristics in a prospective MS cohort. Standard deviation of each normal-to-normal inter-beat interv...

This chapter presents one of the topics which involves behavioral medicine, clinical psychology, and psychiatry, namely, emergency mental health. The chapter also reveals the heavy psychological and societal price we pay when not performing evidence-based interventions. After presenting the chapter’s “case,” theoretical models, explaining responses...

This chapter introduces the basic pillars of behavioral medicine. We begin with the effectors of the stress response and then focus on brain and vagal neuromodulation of stress. We then learn the basics of neuroimmunology – interactions between the nervous and immune systems. The topics of the effects of stress on immunity and on DNA damage are the...

This chapter forms the basis of any clinical encounter and is crucial for appreciating the humane interaction in clinical settings. After introducing a hypothetical case (as will all remaining chapters), it introduces the basic theory in doctor-patient communication. It then provides empirical examples of the effects of doctor-patient communication...

This chapter introduces the book and its structure. It then defines the field of behavioral medicine. The chapter provides basic concepts and a global model of stress, coping, and adaptation, as well as models of job stress. Then we learn about methodological considerations in behavioral medicine including assessment of various concepts, the issue...

This chapter puts behavioral medicine in context of one of the most common health problems, the common cold. After describing the opening case, the chapter reviews the incidence, consequences, and pathophysiology of the upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Psychological risk factors of the URTI are reviewed which include chronic stress, low po...

The chapter begins by a hypothetical case followed by an introduction to the biology of cancer. Psychosocial factors and cancer onset and cancer prognosis are then covered in depth, by meta-analyses and by numerous examples of specific studies. The prognostic factors include hopelessness, patients’ perception of treatment objectives, and coping, to...

This is the second chapter on a specific population, namely, the elderly. After presenting the hypothetical “case,” the chapter briefly reviews basic biological processes in aging. Psychological models in gerontology are mentioned, including the less known model of gerotranscendence. Stress and the importance of control and perceived control in the...

This is a very applied, though scientifically based, chapter, involving a very common clinical issue in medicine. After presenting the chapter’s “case,” we learn briefly the biology of wound healing and surgical recovery. This sets the ground to review evidence on whether psychological factors predict recovery from surgery. We then review studies r...

The chapter begins by a hypothetical case and an introduction to biomedical risk factors and the etiology of coronary heart disease (CHD). We then review psychosocial etiological risk factors and psychosocial prognostic factors of CHD (e.g., hostility, depression, Type-D personality). The chapter then presents in depth the PNI of the acute coronary...

This chapter is the first of two in this book, to be devoted to a special population. Here, we focus on children and adolescents. We begin with the hypothetical case and then with an introduction to psychological factors relevant to children and adolescents. The chapter then provides a brief review of developmental stages in relation to pediatric b...

Objective: An effective method for preventing the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is condom use. Yet, research shows limited effects of education on increasing condom use. This research examined the effects of psychological inoculation (PI) versus education on condom use -barriers and –tendencies, using a fully automatized online system. Design:...

Thousands of migrants have passed through the Balkans in the current migration from the Middle East to Europe. Humanitarian actions were conducted throughout this route as agencies and governments provided support. The Camp of Preševo, on the Southern border of Serbia, was established by the local authorities as a registration camp to monitor the m...

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Global burden of diseases (GBD) includes non-communicable conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. These share important behavioral risk factors (e.g., smoking, diet) and pathophysiological contributing factors (oxidative stress, inflammation and excessive sympathetic activity). This article wish...

Aim: To compare cardiac autonomic modulation in early- versus advanced-stage breast cancer patients before any type of cancer treatment and investigate associated factors. Methods and results: This cross-sectional study included women (30-69 years old) with primary diagnosis of breast cancer and women with benign breast tumors. We evaluated card...

Background: The wave of terrorist attacks over the past years in Europe and other regions may cause problems such as anxiety and depressive symptoms. Some studies suggest that perceived threat might also trigger physical health problems. Objective: To investigate the association between feeling threatened and subjective health during the week follo...

Accumulating evidence points to a beneficial effect of vagus nerve activity in tumor development. The vagus nerve is proposed to slow tumorigenesis because of its anti-inflammatory properties mediated through ACh and the α7nAChR. Since α7nAChRs are widely expressed by many types of immune cells we hypothesized that the vagus nerve affects the tumor...

Acute stress reactions immediately after exposure to trauma or crisis have received growing attention in recent years and are gaining momentum in light of recent mass traumatic events worldwide including conflicts, terrorist attacks and natural disasters. Unlike routine life, traumatic or emergency situations are unexpected and unstructured events....

This article reviews the role of the vagus nerve in tumor modulation and cancer prognosis. We present a systematic review of 12 epidemiological studies examining the relationship between heart rate variability, the main vagus nerve index, and prognosis in cancer patients (survival and tumor markers). These studies show that initially high vagal ner...

Background: Perceived traumatic events occur often, and if initial responses are untreated, they may develop into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often seen in primary care. Past studies showed that early psychological interventions such as debriefing are not effective in preventing PTSD. This research tested effects of a memory structuring...

Background The vagus nerve may slow tumor progression because it inhibits inflammation. This study examined the relationship between a new vagal neuroimmunomodulation (NIM) index and survival in fatal cancers. Method We retroactively derived markers of vagal nerve activity indexed by heart rate variability (HRV), specifically the root mean square...

Targeting gender related medical issues in the humanitarian context is a major challenge for practitioners. Esspecially as it comes to cross cultural differences. This short opinion paper is looking into practical recommendations for practiotioners.

Objective: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to analyze the relationship between symptoms of central sensitization (CS) and important cognitive behavioral and psychosocial factors in a sample of patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. Methods: Participants with chronic nonspecific low back pain for at least 3 months were i...

Today, more and more problems that scientists need to tackle are complex problems. Many examples of these can be found in the health sciences, medicine and ecology. Typical features of complex problems are that they cannot be studied by one discipline and that they need to take into account subjective data as well as objective data. Two promising r...

Thousands of migrants arrived in Europe via the Balkan route, many with various health conditions. The camp of Preševo, Serbia, close to the Macedonian border, was established by the Serbian government and run by the United Nations High Commissioner. The camp was wstablished for Refugees (UNHCR) late in 2015 as a registration and a transfer camp fo...

One of the challenges facing researchers in the domain of human immunodeficiency virus prevention is the assessment of condom use in an unbiased self-reported manner. The current study presents the development and preliminary validation of an indirect condom use test (I-CUTE), designed to assess condom use tendencies and to overcome self-report bia...

Auto-Targeted Neurostimulation Is Not Superior to Placebo in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Fourfold Blind Randomized Clinical Trial BACKGROUND: Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are common and may play a role in chronic nonspecific low back pain (CLBP). A potential treatment of MTrPs is the Nervomatrix Soleve® auto-targeted neurostimulation device, prov...

Study/Objective This study describes the health conditions, treatments and demographic correlations of migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, treated in a transit camp clinic in Serbia, on their way to Europe. Background Europe faces waves of migrants from war-torn countries. Many have multiple health conditions. To help camp clinics use scarc...

Recent research proposes that left hemispheric lateralization (HL) may protect against the effects of life events on mental distress. This study extends these findings by examining the protective role of left-HL in the relationship between war threat (missile exposure) and PTSD symptoms. A sample of 186 Israelis, exposed to missile attacks, complet...

The vagus nerve is strategically located in the body, and has multiple homeostatic and health-promoting effects. Low vagal activity predicts onset and progression of diseases. These are the reasons to activate this nerve. This study examined the effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (t-VNS) on a main index of vagal activity, namely hear...

Background: Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are common in people with musculoskeletal pain and may play a role in chronic nonspecific low back pain (CLBP). One of the potential treatments of MTrPs is the Nervomatrix Soleve® auto-targeted neurostimulation device, providing targeted transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) to MTrPs in th...

The relationship between music training and executive functions has remained inconsistent in previous studies, possibly due to methodological limitations. This study aims to investigate cognitive inhibitory control in children (9–12 years old) with and without musical training, while carefully considering confounding variables. To assess executive...

Objectives: To examine the effects of executive function (EF) on objectively measured high-calorie snack food consumption in 2 age groups and to explore the moderating influence of environmental cues. Methods: In Study 1, 43 older adults (Mage � 74.81) and in Study 2, 79 younger adults (Mage � 18.71) completed measures of EF and subsequently partic...

Traffic accidents (TA) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Psychological risk factors, whether traits or states, are important predictors of dangerous driving and of TA. However, educational and awareness campaigns often have little impact on such factors since they do not provide social resistance skills or cognitive restruct...

Background Various studies have implicated psychosocial variables (e.g., hostility) in risk of dangerous driving and traffic accidents. However, whether these variables are related to more basic neurobiological factors, and whether such associations have implications for the modification of psychosocial risk factors in the context of driving, have...

Objectives: To examine the effects of executive function (EF) on objectively measured high-calorie snack food consumption in 2 age groups and to explore the moderating influence of environmental cues. Methods: In Study 1, 43 older adults (M(age) = 74.81) and in Study 2, 79 younger adults (M(age) = 18.71) completed measures of EF and subsequently...

The parasympathetic system, and primarily the vagus nerve, informs the brain about multiple signals and returns the body to homeostasis. Recent studies have shown that vagal nerve activity independently predicts prognosis in cancer. Here, we take this one step further and show that when vagal nerve activity is high, cancer stage no longer predicts...

Abstract Previous studies have tested the relationship between chronic stress and sex hormones, but inconsistent results have been found. One possibility is that this association may depend on other biological factors. This study examined the relationship between stressful life events (LE) and sex hormones in men, and whether cortisol is involved i...

Pregnancy-specific stress predicts birth outcomes. We hypothesized that there is a maternal stress-GR interaction that can influence fetal birth weight. This study examined the relationship between mothers' stress and attitude towards their pregnancies, placental glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) and growth arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5) expressi...

Objective Hopelessness is an important construct in psychosocial epidemiology, but there is great pressure on the length of questionnaire measures in large-scale population and clinical studies. We examined the validity and test–retest reliability of two brief measures of hopelessness, an existing negatively worded two-item measure of hopelessness...

Past studies show that life events (LE) predict mental distress. This research tested whether hemispheric lateralization (HL) moderated the relationship between LE and mental distress. In studies 1 and 2, different instruments for assessing HL were used (questionnaire and neuropsychological test). In both studies, LE or daily hassles were positivel...

Objectives: Pain is a complex common health problem, with important implications for quality of life and with huge economic consequences. Pain can be elicited due to tissue damage, as well as other multiple factors such as inflammation and oxidative stress. Can there be 1 therapeutic pathway that may target multiple etiologic factors in pain? Met...

Objectives: Neuromodulation of the immune system has been proposed to be influenced by hemispheric lateralisation (HL). The present study tested whether HL predicted CD4+ levels, statistically controlling for confounders. Methods: Employing two assessments of HL, 68 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1+ patients were followed prospectively. Nume...

Work injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Yet, countries differ dramatically on the prevalence of fatal work injuries (FWIs). Are these differences only a function of national economies and infrastructure or also related to entrenched cultural differences? This study tested whether the cultural dimensions of Hofstede, as...

Recent studies suggest that vagal nerve activity, indexed by heart rate variability (HRV), could have a prognostic role in cancer. However, most studies did not control adequately for confounders and included cardiac patients. Furthermore, the validity of this prognostic role needs to be tested in different types of cancer. The present study tested...

Recent research has begun to show the role of the activity of the vagus nerve in cancer prognosis. However, it remains unknown whether cancer severity can impair vagal nerve activity. This study combined data (N=657) of five different cancers (colorectal, pancreas, prostate, lung and ovarian) concerning patients' Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a vag...

We investigated whether vagal tone, as assessed by heart rate variability (HRV), moderates the neural correlates of immune and physiological responses to acute stress. Participants with low and high baseline HRV underwent a reversal learning task as an acute stressor. Natural killer cells, norepinephrine, and adrenocorticotropic hormone in peripher...

Background: Patients with chronic whiplash associated disorders (WAD) demonstrate altered central pain processing and impaired endogenous analgesia. In addition, previous research reported disturbances in the autonomic nervous system and the presence of post-traumatic stress reaction in patients with chronic WAD. The autonomic nervous system, in p...

Objective Written emotional disclosure for 15-20min a day over 3 to 4days improves physical and psychological health and may benefit cancer patients. However, no studies have tested the effectiveness of guided writing in cancer patients and their partners. A randomised controlled trial tested whether writing about the patient's diagnosis and treatm...

Pregnancy is associated with major physiological and future psychosocial changes, and maternal adaptation to these changes is crucial for normal foetal development. Psychological stress in pregnancy predicts an earlier birth and lower birth weight. Pregnancy-specific stress contributes directly to preterm delivery. The importance of nutrition and e...