Professor of Neurobiology at the Institute of Life Sciences and ELSC Safra Center for Brain Science (formerly ICNC Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation) at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. His research focuses on different levels of the visual system, from transduction of absorbed light in the eye, through information processing by the eye and brain, to building and storing representations of the visual scene in the hierarchy of cortical areas and learning perceptional skills.

He received a PhD in Zoology from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in 1972.

Prof. Hochstein was a member of the Initiative's ongoing committee 'Language and Literacy' and a member of the consensus committee studying the topic of 'A Proposal to Revamp Schooling for the 21st Century'. He was also a member of the expert team for the topic of 'Learning from Past Initiatives to Improve Science Education in Israel and Promote Excellence'.