Prof. Shavit is the head of the Psychobiology Area and former chairman of the Department of Psychology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His higher education was at UCLA, and he is a former doctoral and postdoctoral fellow of Prof. John C. Liebeskind. His laboratory has published on the effects of exogenous and endogenous opiates on immune function, on the effects of postoperative pain management on the immune system following surgery, and more recently on the involvement of cytokines in pain sensitivity in the normal, non-diseased state, as well as during inflammatory conditions.
Research Interests:
A. Studying the involvement of proinflammatory cytokines (particularly interleukin-1; IL-1) in pain sensitivity in the normal non-diseased state, and during inflammatory conditions (including acute postoperative pain, chronic inflammatory pain, and neuropathic pain).
B. Examining the effects of postoperative pain management techniques on immune reactivity in the first few days following surgery (in collaboration with Dr. Benzion Beilin, Head of Anesthesiology, Rabin Medical Center -Golda Campus).
Sample of recent research publications:
Bessler, H., Shavit, Y., Mayburd, E., Smirnov, G., Beilin, B. Postoperative pain, morphine consumption, and genetic polymorphism of IL-1? and IL-1 receptor antagonist. Neuroscience Letters, 404: 154-158, 2006.
Wolf, G., Gabay, E., Tal, M., Yirmiya, R., Shavit, Y. Genetic Impairment of interleukin-1 signaling attenuates neuropathic pain, autotomy, and spontaneous ectopic neuronal activity, following nerve injury in mice. Pain, 120: 315-324, 2006.
Beilin, B, Yehuda Shavit, Y., DeKeyser, F., Itzik, A., Weidenfeld, J. The involvement of glucocorticoids and interleukin-1 in the regulation of brain prostaglandin production in response to surgical stress. Neuroimmunomodulation, 13: 36-42, 2006.
Shavit, Y., Fridel, K., Beilin, B. Postoperative pain management and proinflammatory cytokines: Animal and human studies. (Invited Review). Journal of NeuroImmune Pharmacology, 1: 443-451, 2006.
Yardeni, I.Z., Shavit, Y., Bessler, H., Mayburd, E., Grinevich, G., Beilin, B. Comparison of several postoperative pain management techniques on endocrine response to surgery. International Journal of Surgery, 5: 239-243, 2007.
Wolf, G., Yirmiya, R., Kreisel, T. Goshen, I., Weidenfeld, J., Poole, S. Shavit, Y. Interleukin-1 signaling modulates stress-induced analgesia. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 21: 652-659, 2007.
Beilin, B., Hoofien, D., Poran, R., Gral, I., Grinevich, G., Butin, B., Mayburd, E., Shavit, Y. Comparison of two patient-controlled analgesia techniques on neuropsychological functioning in the immediate postoperative period. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 30: 674-682, 2008.
Kleibeuker, W., Gabay, E., Kavelaars, A., Zijlstra, J., Wolf. G., Ziv, N., Yirmiya, R., Shavit, Y., Tal, M., Heijnen, C. J. IL-1? signaling is required for mechanical allodynia induced by nerve injury and for the ensuing reduction in spinal cord neuronal GRK2. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 22: 200-208, 2008.
Shapira-Lichter, I., Beilin, B., Ofek, K., Bessler, H., Gruberger, M., Shavit, Y., Seror, D., Grinevich, G., Posner, E., Reichenberg, A., Soreq, H., Yirmiya, R. Cytokines and cholinergic signals co-modulate surgical stress-induced changes in mood and memory. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 22: 388-398, 2008.
Wolf, G., Livshits, D., Beilin, B., Raz Yirmiya, R., and Shavit, Y. Interleukin-1 signaling is required for induction and maintenance of postoperative incisional pain: Genetic and pharmacological studies in mice. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 22: 1072-1077, 2008.
Gabay, E., Wolf, G., Shavit, Y., Yirmiya, R., Tal, M. Chronic blockade of interleukin-1 (IL-1) prevents and attenuates neuropathic pain behavior and spontaneous ectopic neuronal activity following nerve injury. European Journal of Pain, 15: 242-248, 2011.
Chronic blockade of interleukin-1 (IL-1) prevents and attenuates neuropathic pain behavior and spontaneous ectopic neuronal activity following nerve injury.
Gabay E, Wolf G, Shavit Y, Yirmiya R, Tal M.
Eur J Pain. 2011 Mar;15(3):242-8.
Exploring the neuroimmunopharmacology of opioids: an integrative review of mechanisms of central immune signaling and their implications for opioid analgesia.
Hutchinson MR, Shavit Y, Grace PM, Rice KC, Maier SF, Watkins LR.
Pharmacol Rev. 2011 Sep;63(3):772-810.
Mortality predictors in hospitalized elderly patients.
Tal S, Guller V, Shavit Y, Stern F, Malnick S.
QJM. 2011 Nov;104(11):933-8.