I have long been committed to developing computational models of psychological and cognitive processes, with a recent focus on constructing computational models of reinforcement learning and cognition, as well as on computational psychiatry. Meanwhile, I have been employing a variety of experimental methods and techniques to test the predictions of these computational models and to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying psychological and cognitive processes. Over the past five years, I have chaired and participated in multiple projects funded by the National Natural Science (Social Science) Foundation. The works by our group has been published in international academic journals such as Psychological Review, Psychological Medicine, Biological Psychiatry: CNNI, Human Brain Mapping, and PLOS Computational Biology. These research works have been recognized with a First Prize in the Provincial- and Ministerial-level Outstanding Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences.
ACEDEMIC POSITIONS
Dec 2022-PresentShenzhen University, School of Psychology, Professor, PhD Supervisor, China
Otc 2013-Nov 2022 South Chinal Normal University, School of Psychology, Professor, China
Jan 2011-Jun 2013 Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (Einstein Medical Center), Postdoctor, USA
Jan 2011-Jun 2013 Center for Cognitive Science, University of Pennsylvania, Postdoctor, USA
Jun 2010-Dec 2010 Ghent University, Postdoctor, Belgium
EDUCATION
Oct 2006–May 2010 Ph.D., Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
Sep 2005-Sep 2006 Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Engineering Science, KU Leuven, Belgium
Sep 2000-Jun 2004 Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, School of computer science & technology, Soochow University, China
HONORS & AWARDS
2023 Distinguished Post Talent under Shenzhen’s “Pengcheng Peacock Plan”
2019 Young Scholar in the 2018 “Chang Jiang Scholars Program” by the Ministry of Education
2018 Core member of the psychology discipline at South China Normal University, selected for the Ministry of Education’s first cohort of “Huang Danian-style Teacher Teams” among national universities
2017 Youth Top-notch Talent under the “Guangdong Special Support Plan” (Hundred-Thousand-Ten-Thousand Project)
2016 Youth “Pearl River Scholar” under Guangdong Province’s “Pearl River Scholars” program
2015 First Prize (ranked first overall) in Guangdong Province’s Outstanding Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences
GRANTS
Dec 2021-Dec 2026 Neural Circuit Mechanisms of Attention—Neural Computational Model of Attention, Science and Technology Innovation 2030 – Major Project, Key Participant
Jan 2022-Dec 2024 Cognitive and Computational Mechanisms of Learning Processes under Uncertain Environments, Guangdong Province Natural Science Foundation (General Program), Principal Investigator
Jan 2021-Dec 2024 Cognitive-Neural and Computational Mechanisms of Learning in Dynamic Environments, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) General Program, Principal Investigator
Jan 2017-Dec 2020 Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Mental Numerical Representation and Processing, NSFC General Program, Principal Investigator
Jan 2015-Dec 2017 Development and Learning of Mathematical Abilities, Guangdong Provincial Department of Education Special Innovation Project, Principal Investigator
Jan 2014-Dec 2016 Mental Numerical Representation: A Computational Modeling Study, NSFC Young Scientists Fund, Principal Investigator
PUBLICATIONS（# First Authors, * Corresponding Authors）
1. Chuanyong Xu#, Gangqiang Hou#, Tingxin He, Zhongqiang Ruan, Xinrong Guo, Jierong Chen, Zhen Wei, Carol A. Seger, Qi Chen*, & Ziwen Peng*. (2024). Local structural and functional MRI markers of compulsive behaviors and obsessive–compulsive disorder diagnosis within striatum-based circuits. Psychological Medicine, 54(4),710–720.
2. Li, S., Seger, C. A., Zhang, J., Liu, M., Dong, W., Liu, W., & Chen, Q. (2023). Alpha oscillations encode Bayesian belief updating underlying attentional allocation in dynamic environments. NeuroImage, 284, 120464.
3. Huo, H., Lesage, E., Dong, W., Verguts, T., Seger, C. A., Diao, S., Feng, T.*, & Chen, Q.*. (2023). The neural substrates of how model-based learning affects risk taking: Functional coupling between right cerebellum and left caudate. Brain and Cognition, 172, 106088.
4. Ruan, Z., Seger, C. A., Yang, Q., Kim, D., Lee, S. W., Chen, Q.*, & Peng, Z.*. (2023). Impairment of arbitration between model-based and model-free reinforcement learning in obsessive–compulsive disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1162800.
5. Dong, J., Yue, Q., Li, A., Gu, L., Su, X., Chen, Q., & Mei, L. (2022). Individuals’ preference on reading pathways influences the involvement of neural pathways in phonological learning. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1067561.
6. Pan, Y.#, Xu, C.#, He, T., Wei, Z., Seger, C. A., Chen, Q.*, & Peng, Z.*. (2023). A network perspective on cognitive function and obsessive-compulsive related symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 329, 428–437.
7. Liu, M., Dong, W., Wu, Y., Verbeke, P., Verguts, T., & Chen, Q.*. (2023). Modulating hierarchical learning by high-definition transcranial alternating current stimulation at theta frequency. Cerebral Cortex, 33(8), 4421–4431.
8. Wu, X.#, Yang, Q.#, Xu, C., Huo, H., Seger, C. A., Peng, Z.*, & Chen, Q.*. (2023). Connectome-based predictive modeling of compulsion in obsessive–compulsive disorder. Cerebral Cortex, 33(4), 1412–1425.
9. Chen, X.#, Ma, R.#, Zhang, W., Zeng, G. Q., Wu, Q., Yimiti, A., Xia, X., Cui, J., Liu, Q., Meng, X., Bu, J., Chen, Q., Pan, Y., Yu, N. X., Wang, S., Deng, Z.-D., Sack, A. T., McLaughlin, M. M., & Zhang, X.*. (2023). Alpha oscillatory activity is causally linked to working memory retention. PLOS Biology, 21(2), e3001999.
10. Peng, Z.#*, He, L.#, Wen, R.#, Verguts, T., Seger, C. A.*, & Chen, Q.*. (2022). Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by decreased Pavlovian influence on instrumental behavior. PLOS Computational Biology, 18, e1009945.
11. Xu, C.#, Hou, G.#, He, T., Ruan, Z., Chen, J., Wei, Z., Seger, C. A., Chen, Q.*, & Peng, Z.*. (2022). Imbalance in functional and structural connectivity underlying goal-directed and habitual learning systems in obsessive compulsive disorder. Cerebral Cortex, 32, 3690–3705.
12. Dong, W.#, Luo, J.#, Huo, H., Seger, C. A., & Chen, Q.*. (2022). Frontostriatal functional connectivity underlies the association between punishment sensitivity and procrastination. Brain Sciences, 12, 1163.
13. Peng, Z.#*, He, T.#, Ren, P.#, Jin, L., Yang, Q., Xu, C., Wen, R., Chen, J., Wei, Z., Verguts, T., & Chen, Q.*. (2022). Imbalance between the caudate and putamen connectivity in obsessive–compulsive disorder. NeuroImage: Clinical, 35, 103083.
14. Wei, Z.#, Hu, Y.#, Xiao, J., Wang, R., Huang, Q., Peng, Z., Hou, G., & Chen, Q.*. (2022). Impacts of the psychological stress response on aggression in adolescents during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 16, 1–11 (article eFirst).
15. Chen, Q.#, Liu, M.#, Wen, R.#, Xu, C., Wei, Z., Zhang, W., Seger, C. A.*, & Peng, Z.*. (2022). Dysfunction of goal-directed control in patients with depression and non-suicidal self-injury. Brain and Behavior, 12, e2607.
16. Xiao, J.#, Wang, R.#, Hu, Y., He, T., Ruan, Z., Chen, Q.*, & Peng, Z.*. (2022). Impacts of the psychological stress response on nonsuicidal self-injury behavior in students during the COVID-19 epidemic in China: The mediating role of sleep disorders. BMC Psychology, 10, 87.
17. Liu, M.#, Dong, W.#, Qin, S., Verguts, T., & Chen, Q.*. (2022). Electrophysiological signatures of hierarchical learning. Cerebral Cortex, 32, 626–639.
18. Yang, Y.#, Chen, Z.#, Chen, Q.*, & Feng, T.*. (2021). Neural basis responsible for episodic future thinking effects on procrastination: The interaction between the cognitive control pathway and emotional processing pathway. Cortex, 145,250–263.
19. Peng, Z.#*, Yang, X.#, Xu, C., Wu, X., Yang, Q., Wei, Z., Zhou, Z., Verguts, T., & Chen, Q.*. (2021). Aberrant rich club organization in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. NeuroImage: Clinical, 32, 102808.
20. Peng, Z.#*, Guo, Y.#, Wu, X., Yang, Q., Wei, Z., Seger, C. A., & Chen, Q.*. (2021). Abnormal brain functional network dynamics in obsessive–compulsive disorder patients and their unaffected first-degree relatives. Human Brain Mapping, 42, 4387–4398.
21. Zhang, S., Verguts, T., Zhang, C., Feng, P., Chen, Q.*, & Feng, T.*. (2021). Outcome value and task aversiveness impact task procrastination through separate neural pathways. Cerebral Cortex, 31, 3846–3855.
22. Zhou, D., Cai, Q., Luo, J., Yi, Z., Li, Y., Seger, C. A., & Chen, Q.*. (2021). The neural mechanism of spatial-positional association in working memory: A fMRI study. Brain and Cognition, 152, 104742.
23. Peng, Z.#*, Xu, C.#, Ma, N.#, Yang, Q., Ren, P., Wen, R., Jin, L., Chen, J., Wei, Z., Verguts, T., & Chen, Q.*. (2021). White matter alterations of the goal-directed system in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 6, 992–1001.
24. Huo, H., Zhang, R., Seger, C. A., Feng, T.*, & Chen, Q.*. (2020). The effect of trait anxiety on risk taking: Functional coupling between right hippocampus and left insula. Psychophysiology, 57, e13629.
25. Huo, H., Seger, C. A., Zhou, D., Chen, Z., Xu, T., Zhang, R., Feng, T.*, & Chen, Q.*. (2020). The assessment dimension of regulatory mode mediates the relation between frontoparietal connectivity and risk-taking: Evidence from voxel-based morphometry and functional connectivity analysis. Brain and Cognition, 140, 105551.
26. Zhou, D., Luo, J., Yi, Z., Li, Y., Yang, S., Verguts, T., & Chen, Q.*. (2020). The hand-lateralization of spatial associations in working memory and long-term memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 73, 1150–1161.
27. Dong, C.#, Yang, Q.#, Liang, J., Seger, C. A., Han, H., Ning, Y., Chen, Q.*, & Peng, Z.*. (2019). Impairment in the goal-directed corticostriatal learning system as a biomarker for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychological Medicine, 49, 1–11.
28. Liu, D., Zhou, D., Li, M., Li, M., Dong, W., Verguts, T., & Chen, Q.*. (2019). The neural mechanism of number line bisection: A fMRI study. Neuropsychologia, 129, 37–46.
29. Zhou, D., Zhong, H., Dong, W., Li, M., Verguts, T., & Chen, Q.*. (2019). The metaphoric nature of the ordinal position effect. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72, 2121–2129.
30. Zhang, S., Becker, B., Chen, Q.*, & Feng, T.*. (2019). Insufficient task–outcome association promotes task procrastination through a decrease of hippocampal–striatal interaction. Human Brain Mapping, 40, 597–607.
31. Chen, Z., Hu, X., Chen, Q.*, & Feng, T.*. (2019). Altered structural and functional brain network overall organization predict human intertemporal decision-making. Human Brain Mapping, 40, 306–328.
32. Chen, Q., Middleton, E., & Mirman, D.*. (2019). Words fail: Lesion-symptom mapping of errors of omission in post-stroke aphasia. Journal of Neuropsychology, 13, 183–197.
33. Li, M., Liu, D., Li, M., Dong, W., Huang, Y., & Chen, Q.*. (2018). Addition and subtraction but not multiplication and division cause shifts of spatial attention. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 183.
34. Zhao, T., He, X.*, Zhao, X., Huang, J., Zhang, W., Wu, S., & Chen, Q. (2018). The influence of time units on the flexibility of the spatial numerical association of response codes effect. British Journal of Psychology, 109, 299–320.
35. Liu, D., Cai, D., Verguts, T., & Chen, Q.*. (2017). The time course of spatial attention shifts in elementary arithmetic. Scientific Reports, 7, 921.
36. Liu, D., Verguts, T., Li, M., Ling, Z., & Chen, Q.*. (2017). Dissociated spatial-arithmetic associations in horizontal and vertical dimensions. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1741.
37. Zhou, D., & Chen, Q.*. (2017). Color image norms in Mandarin Chinese. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1880.
38. Verguts, T.*, & Chen, Q. (2017). Numerical cognition: Learning binds biology to culture. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21, 913–914.
39. Chen, Q., & Verguts, T.*. (2017). Numerical proportion representation: A neurocomputational account. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11, 412.
40. Feng, G., Chen, Q., Zhu, Z., & Wang, S.*. (2015). Separate brain circuits support integrative and semantic priming in the human language system. Cerebral Cortex, 26, 3169–3182.
41. Mirman, D.*, Chen, Q., Zhang, Y., Wang, Z., Faseyitan, O. K., Coslett, H. B., & Schwartz, M. F.*. (2015). Neural organization of spoken language revealed by lesion–symptom mapping. Nature Communications, 6, 6762.
42. Middleton, E. L.*, Chen, Q.*, & Verkuilen, J. (2015). Friends and foes in the lexicon: Homophone naming in aphasia. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 41, 77–90.
43. Chen, Q., & Mirman, D.*. (2015). Interaction between phonological and semantic representations: Time matters. Cognitive Science, 39, 538–558.
44. Chen, Q., & Verguts, T.*. (2013). Spontaneous summation or numerosity-selective coding? Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 886.
45. Mirman, D.*, Britt, A. E., & Chen, Q. (2013). Effects of phonological and semantic deficits on facilitative and inhibitory consequences of item repetition in spoken word comprehension. Neuropsychologia, 51, 1848–1856.
46. Chen, Q.*, & Mirman, D. (2012). Competition and cooperation among similar representations: Toward a unified account of facilitative and inhibitory effects of lexical neighbors. Psychological Review, 119, 417–430.
47. Chen, Q., & Verguts, T.*. (2012). Spatial intuition in elementary arithmetic: A neurocomputational account. PLOS ONE, 7(2), e31180.
48. Chen, Q., & Verguts, T.*. (2010). Beyond the mental number line: A neural network model of number–space interactions. Cognitive Psychology, 60, 218–240.
49. Gevers, W.*, Santens, S., Dhooge, E., Chen, Q., Van den Bossche, L., Fias, W., & Verguts, T. (2010). Verbal-spatial and visuospatial coding of number–space interactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 139, 180–190.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Lecturer for undergraduates in the Faculty of Psychology.
