NYUEast China Normal UniversityNYU Shanghai
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Zhong-Lin Lu

Zhong-Lin

Professor of Neuroscience, NYU Shanghai

Global Network Professor, NYU

Email: zhonglin@nyu.edu

Phone: 021-2059-6099

Office: Room S708, 567 West Yangsi Road, Shanghai

Faculty Google Scholar Page CLICK HERE

Research Interests

Visual Perception, Psychophysics, Attention, Perceptual Learning, Brain Imaging

Research Summary

The goal of Professor Lu’s research is to construct computational brain models for perception and cognition--- models sufficiently computational such that they can be represented in a computer program or in mathematical theory. Psychophysical experimentation, physiological investigation, clinical testing, and computational modeling are essential elements in his research. He is currently working on: (1) Computational & psychophysical studies of visual perception, attention, and perceptual learning, (2) Functional brain imaging studies of sensory and attentional processes, learning, reading, and human decision-making, (3) Behavioral and physiological studies of visual deficits and rehabilitation in amblyopia and myopia, and (4) Applications of hierarchical Bayesian models in adaptive testing, psychophysics, perceptual learning, and brain networks.

Education Background

1992    Ph.D., Physics, New York University. Thesis title: Neuromagnetic Investigation of Sensory Evoked and Spontaneous Activity of Human Cerebral Cortex (Advisor: Samuel J. Williamson)
1991    M.S., Physics, New York University
1989    B.S., Theoretical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China. Thesis title: Berry Phase Factor --- multi-dimensional generalization, classic correspondence and applications in optics (Advisor: Yong-De Zhang)

Work/Research Experience

2017 – 2019    Distinguished Professor of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, The Ohio State University
2011 – 2017    Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral Science and Professor of Psychology, The Ohio State University
2012 – 2019    Director, Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, The Ohio State University
2011 – 2019    Director, Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging, The Ohio State University
2014 – 2019    Co-Director, Humanities and Cognitive Sciences Summer High School Institute, The Ohio State University
2013 – 2019    Professor of Optometry, School of Optometry, The Ohio State University
2015 – 2019    Member, Translational Data Analytics, The Ohio State University
2006 – 2011    William M. Keck Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Southern California
2008 – 2011    Chair, College Neuroscience Committee, USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
2005 – 2011     Professor of Psychology and Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California
2005 – 2011     Co-Director, Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center, College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, University of Southern California
2004 – 2005     Scientific Director, Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center, College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, University of Southern California
2000 – 2004     Associate Professor, Departments of Psychology and Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California
1996 – 2000     Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Program in Neural, Informational and Behavioral Sciences, University of Southern California
1992 – 1996     Assistant Researcher (Supervisor: George Sperling), Human Information Processing Laboratory, Department of Cognitive Sciences and Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Irvine
1992 – 1992     Postdoctoral Fellow (Supervisor: Samuel J. Williamson and George Sperling), Neuromagnetism Laboratory and Human Information Processing Laboratory, Physics and Psychology Departments and Center for Neural Science, New York University

Selected Awards

2007    Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
2003    Early Investigator Award & Fellow elected, Society of Experimental Psychologists

Representative Publications
  1. Lu, Z.-L., Williamson, S. J. & Kaufman, L. (1992) Behavioral lifetime of human sensory memory predicted by physiological measures. Science, 258: 1668-1670.
  2. Lu, Z.-L. & Sperling, G. (1995) Attention-generated apparent motion. Nature, 379: 237-239.
  3. Lu, Z.-L. & Sperling, G. (1995) The functional architecture of human visual motion perception. Vision Research, 35: 2697-2722.
  4. Lu, Z.-L. & Dosher, B. (1998) External noise distinguishes mechanisms of attention. Vision Research, 38, 1183-1198.
  5. Lu, Z.-L. & Dosher, B. A. (2008) Characterizing observer states using external noise and observer models: Assessing internal representations with external noise. Psychological Review, 115 (1), 44-82.  
  6. Lu, Z.-L. & Dosher, B. (2013) Visual Psychophysics: From Laboratory to Theory, The MIT Press. (464 pages)
  7. Yang, J., Yan, F.-F., Chen, L., Xi, J., Fan, S., Zhang, P., Lu, Z.-L. & Huang, C.-B. General Perceptual Learning Ability in Learning Multiple Perceptual Tasks, PNAS, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2002903117
  8. Dosher, B. & Lu, Z.-L. (2020) Perceptual Learning: How Visual Experience Shapes Perception, The MIT Press. (512 pages)

For a full list of publications, click here.