I am a researcher in human neuroscience, with a deep passion for understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms behind depression and anxiety. Although this may seem like a monumental challenge for a single lifetime, I have dedicated myself to making meaningful strides since beginning my research journey in 2016
In the early years of my career, I focused on human social behaviors and adaptation, investigating how oxytocin and its placebo effects could foster prosocial behaviors and improve social well-being. This work sparked my interest in the powerful role that neural and psychological mechanisms play in shaping human behavior and mental health
Since 2022, I have turned my attention to the computational underpinnings of mental illness, particularly depression and anxiety. Understanding how brain dysfunction contributes to these conditions is key to advancing neuro-modulation techniques, with the potential to treat mental illness at its source
Recognizing the critical importance of early intervention, I co-founded NAODAO in 2020 to develop systems that track mental health and facilitate early diagnosis, with the ultimate goal of preventing mental illness from escalating
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV)
Skillset: computational modeling, intracranial EEG
1. Yan X, Ebitz B, Grissom N, Darrow D & Herman A (2024). Distinct computational mechanisms of uncertainty processing explain opposing exploratory behaviors in anxiety and apathy. bioRxiv, 2024-06.
2. Knep E, Yan X, Chen CS, Jacob S, Darrow DP, Ebitz B, Grissom N, Herman A (2024). Explore-exploit behaviors predict broad autism social phenotypes in general population. Psyarxiv.
Skillset: computational modeling, fMRI
1. Yan X. (2024) Too smart for one’s good? Evolution favors individuals with a low-level theory of mind in a complex network. Psyarxiv.
2. Yan X, Yong X, Huang W, Ma Y. Placebo treatment facilitates social trust and approach behavior (2018). PNAS 115(22):5732-37.
3. Kappes A, Yan X, Ma Y, Crockett M. (2023). Cultural Differences in Forming Beliefs about Others. Psyarxiv.
4. Zheng S†, Yan X†, Siegel J, Chituc V, Li S, Crockett, M & Ma Y. (2020). Self-serving karmic beliefs: prosociality influences vicarious optimism. Psyarxiv. († co-first-author)
5. Liu Y, Li S#, Lin W#, Li W#, Yan X, Wang X, Pan X, RB Rutledge, Ma Y. Amygdala activity tracks deviations from social preferences (2019). Nat Neurosci 22 (4): 633-641 (# co-second author)
6. Wang D, Yan X, Li M, Ma Y (2017). Neural substrates underlying oxytocin effect: A quantitative meta-analysis of pharmaco-imaging studies. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 12(10): 1565-1573.
Skillset: fMRI
1. Yan X (2024). Neural dynamics of self-referential processing and the insight for decoding self-concepts. Journal of Neuroscience 44(30).
2. Feng C†, Yan X†, Huang W, Han S, Ma Y. Neural representations of the multidimensional self in the cortical midline structures (2018). Neuroimage 183:291-299. († co-first-author)
3. Ma Y, Li S, Wang C, Liu Y, Li W, Yan X, Chen Q, Han S (2016). Distinct oxytocin effects on belief updating in response to desirable and undesirable feedback. PNAS 113(33):9256-61.
Skillset: resting-state fMRI
1. Feng Z, Zhang H, Zhou T, Yu X, Zhang Y, & Yan X*. (2023). Dynamic functional connectivity changes associated with psychiatric traits and cognitive deficits in Cushing’s disease. Translational Psychiatry, 13(1), 308. (*corresponding author)
2. Liu B, Mao Z, Yan X, Yang H, Xu J, Feng Z, Zhang Y, Yu X (2024) Structural network topologies are associated with deep brain stimulation outcomes in Meige syndrome. Neurotherapeutics, e00367
3. Shang G, Zhou T, Yu X, Yan X, He K, Liu B, Feng Z, Zhang Y, Yu X (2024) Chronic hypercortisolism disrupts the principal functional gradient in Cushing’s disease: A multi-scale connectomics and transcriptomics study. NeuroImage: Clinical 43, 103652