Research Experience

Currently, my research explores the psychosocial correlates and neurocognitive mechanisms of exercise addiction (EA). Using self-report measurements and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), my works examine the pathways between social interaction, cognitive control, and EA at behavioral and neurophysiological levels.

Secondly, I am also interested in the cognitive benefits of exercise among the populations who were characterized with cognitive deficits and atypical brain activities. For example, utilizing neuroelectric measures (i.e., event-related potentials, ERPs), I was able to determine the effects of acute exercise on inhibitory control and error monitoring among violent offenders and drug abusers.

My third research interest is understanding how social determinants of health (e.g., gender identity, race, income, education, and discrimination) impact cognitive performance and brain health.

University of Texas at Austin

2019 - Present, Health Behavior & Health Education Program
Kinetic Kidz Lab (PI: Darla M. Castelli, Ph.D.)

Supervised by Dr. Castelli, I'm conducting my doctoral dissertation research to investigate the psychosocial determinants of EA using self-report questionnaires, computerized tasks (i.e., Stop Signal Task and the Cyberball Paradigm), along with fNIRS. My research aims to: (1) identify the social determinants of EA and examine the interaction between these upstream social variables and emotional regulation on EA; and (2) determine the association between social ostracism and the risk of EA, and examine the moderation effect of emotional regulation and the mediation role of cognitive control.

National Chung Cheng University

2017 - 2018, Dept. of Criminology
PI: Chiao-Yun Chen Ph.D.

After I got my master degree, I worked as a research assistant in Dr. Chen's lab for the project Recidivism Risk Assessment Tool for Drug Abusers (毒品犯罪人再犯風險評估工具之研究) which was funded by the Ministry of Justice of Taiwan. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive scale for evaluating the recidivism incidents among illicit drug users. Additionally, this research also determined the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) among abusers' craving levels and their behavioral performance and ERPs activities of inhibitory control (i.e., N2 and P3 amplitudes). In Dr. Chen's lab, I also assisted in other studies that investigated the associations between drug misuse, violent behaviors, social ostracism, and cognitive control using ERPs along with cognitive assessment tasks such as Stop Signal Task, Cyberball Paradigm, and Taylor Aggression Paradigm.

National Chung Cheng University

2014 - 2017, Graduate Institute of Sport & Leisure Education
Psychology of Health & Physical Activity Lab (PI: Suyen Liu, Ph.D.)

This is where my academic journey began. I was a master student and a research assistant in Dr. Liu's lab in which we examined the influences of acute exercise on cognitive control among violent offenders. With the co-advising by Dr. Chiao-Yun Chen, we used both behavioral and ERPs measures with the Emotional Stop Signal Task to investigate whether a 30-min aerobic exercise on a cycle ergometer improves the stop signal reaction time (SSRT) and post-error slowing (PES), as well as the ERPs components of inhibitory control, error monitoring, and error adjustment (i.e., N2, P3, ERN, and Pe).