Prof. Nira Mashal
Affiliation
CV
- 1991 B.A., Mathematics Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
- 1998 M.A, Mathematics Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
- 2006 Ph.D., Brain Science, The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center. Bar-Ilan University, Israel THESIS: Cerebral Processing of Metaphoric Language: a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Investigation. Suma cum Laude. SUPERVISOR: Prof. Miriam Faust, The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, and Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University.
Post-Doctoral: Northwestern Institute of Neuroscience (NUIN), Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Post-Doctoral: Human Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Neurology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Publications
Chapters in Books
1. Mashal, N., Andrick, M., and Small, S. (2011). Motor cortical activation during speech perception. In M. Faust (Ed.), Advances in the Neural Substrates of Language: Toward a synthesis of Basic Science and Clinical Research. Wiley Blackwell: USA.
2. Mashal, N. (2012). Nonliteral comprehension deficits in children with learning disabilities: Implication of brain imaging technology (pp. 211- 219). In A. Shamir & O. Korat (Eds.). Technology for Literacy Achievements for Children at Risk. Springer: USA.
3. Mashal, N., & Kasirer, A. (2013). Understanding verbal and visual metaphors in Autism (pp. 651-670). In V.B. Patel et al. (Eds.). The Comprehensive Guide to Autism. Springer: USA.
ARTICLES IN REFEREED JOURNALS
1. Hershkowitz, D. and Mashal, N. (1998). P-matrices and Lyapunov scalar stability. The Electronic Journal of Linear Algebra, 4, 39-47.
2. Mashal, N., Faust, M., & Hendler, T. (2005). The role of the right hemisphere in processing nonsalient metaphorical meanings: Application of Principal Components Analysis to fMRI data. Neuropsychologia, 43, 2084-2100.
3. Mashal, N., Faust, M., Hendler, T., & Jung-Beeman, M. (2007). An fMRI investigation of the neural correlates underlying the processing of novel metaphoric expressions. Brain and Language, 100, 115-126. The most cited paper since 2007 in Brain and Language as for 2012
4. Faust, M., & Mashal, N. (2007). The role of the right cerebral hemisphere in processing novel metaphoric expressions taken from poetry: A divided visual field study. Neuropsychologia, 45, 860-870.
5. Mashal, N., & Faust, M. (2008). Right hemisphere sensitivity to novel metaphoric relations: Application of the signal detection theory. Brain and Language, 104, 103-112.
6. Mashal, N., Faust, M., Hendler, T. & Jung-Beeman, M. (2008). Hemispheric differences in processing the literal interpretation of idioms: Converging evidence from behavioral and fMRI studies. Cortex, 44, 848-860.
7. Pobric, G., Mashal, N., Faust, M., & Lavidor, M. (2008). The causal role of the right cerebral hemisphere in processing novel metaphoric expressions taken from poetry: A TMS study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20, 170-181.
8. Mashal, N., Faust, M., Hendler, T., & Jung-Beeman, M. (2009). An fMRI study of processing novel metaphoric sentences. Laterality, 14, 30-54.
9. Mashal, N., & Faust, M. (2009). Conventionalization of novel metaphors: A shift in hemispheric asymmetry. Laterality, 14, 573-589.
10. Mashal, N., & Faust, M. (2010). The effects of metaphoricity and presentation style on brain activation during text comprehension. Metaphor and Symbol, 25(1), 19 – 33.
11. Mashal, N., Gavrieli, R., & Kavé, G. (2011). Age-related changes in the appreciation of novel metaphoric semantic relations, Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 18 (5), 527–543.
12. Mashal, N., & Kasirer, A. (2011). Thinking maps enhance metaphoric competence in children with autism and learning disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32, 2045–2054.
13. Mashal, N., & Kasirer, A. (2012a). Principal component analysis study of visual and verbal metaphoric comprehension in children with autism and learning disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 33, 274–282.
14. kavé, G., & Mashal, N. (2012): Age-related differences in word-retrieval but not in meaning generation, Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 18, 527-543.
15. Mashal, N., Solodkin A., Dick, A., Chen, E.E., & Small, S.L. (2012) A Network Model of Observation and Imitation of Speech. Frontiers in psychology, 3:84. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00084.
16. Mashal, N. & Kasirer, A. (2012b). The relationship between visual metaphor comprehension and recognition of similarities in children with learning disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 33, 1741-1748 .
17. Subramaniam, K., Faust, M., Beeman, M., & Mashal, N. (2012). The Repetition Paradigm: Enhancement of novel metaphors and suppression of conventional metaphors in the left inferior parietal lobe. Neuropsychplogia, 50, 2705–2719.
18. Subramaniam, K., Beeman, M., Faust, M., & Mashal, N. (2013). Positively-valenced stimuli facilitate creative novel metaphoric processes by enhancing medial prefrontal cortical (mPFC) activation. Frontiers in Psychology, 4:211. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00211.
19. Mashal, N., Vishne, T., Laor, N., & Titone, D. (2013). Enhanced left frontal involvement during novel metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia: Evidence from functional neuroimaging. Brain and Language, 124, 66-74.
20. Mashal, N. (2013). The role of working memory in the comprehension of unfamiliar and familiar metaphors. Language and Cognition, 5(4), 409- 436.
21. Mashal, N., & Itkes, O. (2013). The effects of emotional valence on hemispheric processing of metaphoric word pairs. Laterality, 19, 511-521. DOI: 10.1080/1357650X.2013.862539.
22. Mashal, N, Shen, Y., & Kastel, D. (2014). Element Order in Metaphorical and Literal Phrases. Metaphor and symbol, 29 (2), 113-128.
23. Mashal, N., & Coblentz, S. (2014). Creative interpretations of novel conceptual combinations in aging. Creativity Research Journal, 26(2), 158–164.
24. Saban-Bezalel, N., & Mashal, N. (in press). Figurative Language comprehension and Laterality in Autism Spectrum Disorder. In Oshin Vartanian and Rex Jung (Eds.). The Cambridge Handbook of the Neuroscience of Creativity Progress Report. Cambridge University Press.
25. Kavé, G., Gavrieli, R., & Mashal, N. (2014). Stronger left-hemisphere lateralization due accumulated knowledge in older versus younger adults. Laterality, 19, 705-717.
26. Mashal, N, Shen, Y., Jospe, K., & Gil, D. (2014). Language effects on the conceptualization of hybrids. Language and Cognition, 6, 217-241.
27. Kesner-Baruch, Y., Spector-Levy, O., & Mashal, N. (2014). Preschoolers' verbal and Behavioral responses as indicators of attitudes and scientific curiosity. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. (DOI) 10.1007/s10763-014-9573-6.
28. Mashal, N., Vishne, T., & Laor, N. (2014). The role of the precuneus in metaphor comprehension: Evidence from an fMRI study in people with schizophrenia and healthy participants. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8: 818
29. Kasirer, A., & Mashal, N. (2014). Verbal creativity in autism: Comprehension and generation of metaphoric language in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder and typical development. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 615
30. Shen, Y., Aharoni, B., & Mashal, N. (2015). Taxonomic and ad hoc categorization within the two cerebral hemispheres. Laterality, 20, 517-529.
31. Itkes, O., & Mashal, N. (2015). Processing negative valence of word pairs that include a positive word. Cognition and Emotion, 30, 1180-1187.
32. Mashal, N., Borodkin, k., Maliniak, O., & Faust, M. (2015). Hemispheric Involvement in Native and Non-Native Comprehension of Conventional Metaphors. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 35, 96- 108.
33. Lifshitz-Vahav, H., Shnitzer, S., & Mashal, N. (2015). Participation in recreation and cognitive activities as a predictor of cognitive performance of adults with/without Down syndrome. Aging and Mental Health. DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2015.1047322.
34. Saban- Bezalel, R., & Mashal, N. (2015a). Hemispheric Processing of Idioms and Irony in Adults with and without Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 3496-3508.
35. Saban-Bezalel, R., & Mashal, N. (2015b). The effects of intervention on the comprehension of irony and on hemispheric processing of irony in adults with ASD. Neuropsychologia, 77, 233- 241.
36. Segal, D., Mashal, N., & Shalev, C. (2015). Semantic conflicts are resolved differently by adults with and without ADHD. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 47, 416–429.
37. Lifshitz Ben Basat, A., Gvion, A., Vatine, J.J., & Mashal, N. (2016). Transcranial direct current stimulation to improve naming abilities of persons with chronic aphasia: A preliminary study using individualized based protocol. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 38, 1- 13.
38. Metzuyanim- Gorlick, S., & Mashal, N. (2016). The effects of transcranial direct current stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on cognitive inhibition. Experimental Brain Research, 234, 1537-1544.
39. Borodkin, k., Kenett, Y., Faust, M., & Mashal, N. (2016). When pumpkin is closer to onion than to squash: The structure of the second language lexicon. Cognition, 156, 60- 70.
40. Kasirer, A., & Mashal, N. (2016). Comprehension and Generation of Metaphors by Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 32, 53- 63.
41. Shnitzer-Meirovich, S., Lifshitz-Vahab, H., & Mashal, N. (2017). Comprehension of verbal and visual metaphors among individuals with intellectual disability with and without Down Syndrome. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 52(3), 252–267.
42. Kasirer, A., & Mashal, N. (2017). Comprehension and generation of metaphoric language in children, adolescents and adults with dyslexia. Dyslexia, 23, 99-118. doi: 10.1002/dys.1550.
43. Segal, D., Shalev, L., & Mashal, N. (2017). Attenuated hemispheric asymmetry in metaphor processing among adults with ADHD compared to controls. Neuropsychology.
44. Saban-Bezalel, Hess, S., Dolfin, D., Hermesh, H., Vishne, T., & Mashal, N. (2017). Hemispheric Processing of Idioms in Schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2017.1325893.
45. Osovlanski, H., & Mashal, N. (2017). The role of the Superior Temporal Gyrus in Processing Semantic and Pragmatic Information: A transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Study. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 44, 239-248.
46. Saban-Bezalel, R., & Mashal, N. (2017). Comprehension and Hemispheric Processing of Irony in Schizophrenia. Frontiers in Psychology, 8: 943.
47. Lifshitz Ben-Basat, A. & Mashal, N. (2018). Improving Naming Abilities Among Healthy Young-Old Adults Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 47, 113–124.
48. Kasirer, A. & Mashal, N. (2018). Fluency or Similarities? Cognitive Abilities that Contribute to Creative Metaphor Generation. Creativity Research Journal, 30, 205-211.
49. Saban-Bezalel, R, Coral, N., & Mashal, N. (2018). Increased Reliance on Right Hemispheric Mechanism during Idiom Processing in Adults with Dyslexia. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, DOI: 10.1080/1357650X.2018.1533023
50. Shnitzer-Meirovich, S., Lifshitz-Vahab, H., & Mashal, N. (2018). Enhancing the Comprehension of Visual Metaphors in Individuals with Intellectual Disability with or without Down Syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 74, 113-123.
51. Mashal, N., & Metzuyanim- Gorlick, S. (2019). New information on the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on n-back task performance. Experimental Brain Research, 237:1315-1324
52. Saban-Bezalel, R., Dolfin, D. Laor, N. & Mashal, N. (2019). Irony comprehension and mentalizing ability in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 58, 30-38.
53. Saban-Bezalel, R, & Mashal, N. (2019). Different Factors Predict Idiom Comprehension in Children and Adolescents with ASD and Typical Development. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49, 4740–4750.
54. Mashal, N., Yankovitz, B., & Lifshitz-Vahab, H. (2019). Lexical decision performance using the divided visual field technique following training in adults with intellectual disabilities with and without Down syndrome. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, https://doi.org/10.1080/1357650X.2019.1642344.
55. Menashe, S., Leshem, R., Heruti, V., Kasirer, A., Yair, T.,Mashal, N. (2020). Elucidating the role of selective attention, divergent thinking, language abilities, and executive functions in metaphor generation. Neuropsychologia, 142.
56. Yankovitz, B.,& Mashal, N. (2020). Can brain stimulation improve semantic joke comprehension? Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 32:4, 357-368.
57. Kasirer, A., Adi-Japha, E., & Mashal, N. (2020). Verbal and Figural Creativity in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and, Typical Development. Frontiers in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.559238 2| https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.559238
58. Lifshitz Ben-Basat, A. & Mashal, N. (2021). Enhancing Creativity by Altering the Frontoparietal Control Network Functioning Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation. Experimental Brain Research.
59. Ershaid, H., Mashal, N., & Borodkin, K. (2022). Hemispheric involvement in the comprehension of conventional metaphors in Arabic–Hebrew speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism ,1–17.
60. Fussman, S. & Mashal, N. (2022). Initial Validation for the Assessment of Pragmatic Abilities and Cognitive Substrates (APACS) Hebrew Battery in Adolescents and Young Adults With Typical Development. Frontiers in Communication. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.758384
61. Gaziel-Guttman, M., Anaki, D., & Mashal, N. (2022). Social anxiety and shame among young adults with ASD compared to typical adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
62. Pinto, M.A., Melogno, S. & Mashal, N. (2022). Editorial: Rethinking figurative language in neurodevelopmental disorders: theoretical challenges stemming from intervention. Frontiers in Communication, Sec.Language Sciences. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2022.971995
63. Stephan,E., Shidlovski, D., Shanetzki,M., Agajany, K., & Mashal, N. (2022). The role of vividness of imagery in metaphor generation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1–18. DOI:10.1002/ejsp.2898
64. Leshem, R., Himan Heltai, S., & Mashal, N. (2022). Personality traits and environment: The effects of observing visual art on verbal creativity. Progress in Brain Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.12.00
65. Yankovitz, B.-e.; Kasirer, A.; Mashal, N. (2023). The Relationship between Semantic Joke and Idiom Comprehension in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Brain Sciences, 13, 935. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/brainsci13060935
66. Heruti, V., & Mashal, N. (2023). Effects of an Art Intervention Program Using Ambiguous Image-Text Interactions on Creative Thinking. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/02762374231215736 67. Kofman Talmy, A., & Mashal N. (2024). Quantitative and qualitative initial validation of the accountable talk questionnaire. Frontiers in Communication, 8. 10.3389/fcomm.2023.1182439
Research
- Figurative language in atypical populations (ASD, Dyslexia, Schizophrenia),
- Neuropragmatics,
- Cognitive enhancement,
- Creativity,
- Intervention programs,
- Brain Stimulation
Courses
1. Language, Communication, and the Brain
2. Brain and Cognition
3. Seminar in language and thinking
Fields of Expertise
Brain and language, brain imaging using fMRI, brain asymmetry and language functions of the right hemisphere, metaphoric language, non-literal language processing in schizophrenia, autism, learning disabilities , brain stimulation using tDCS.
Last Updated Date : 01/02/2024
