About Lei

My research applies knowledge from cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and computational modeling to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the brain computes values and social information when making decisions. For that, I use behavioral measurements, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and Bayesian hierarchical modeling.

Website: lei-zhang.net

Background

Ph,D. in Cognitive Neuroscience, summa cum laude - University of Hamburg, Germany
M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience - BCBL, Spain
B. Sc. in Psychology - Beijing Normal University, China

Publications

Zhang, L., Gläscher, J. (in prep.). A network supporting social influences in human decision-making.

Zhang, L., Gläscher, J. (in prep.). Falsifying cognitive computational models is as important as model selection: A tutorial on evaluating posterior predictions with hierarchical Bayesian methods.

Zhang, L., Hipp, J., Taylor, K., Chatham, C., & Bolognani, F. (in prep). A continuous scoring method for the Vineland™-II Adaptive Behavior Scale: Implications for clinical trials in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Crawley, D.*, Zhang, L.*, Emily, J., …, den Ouden, H., Loth, E., & the EU-AIMS LEAP group (in prep). Computational modelling reveals cognitive processes underpinning flexible choice behaviour have a comparable developmental course in autism spectrum disorder and typical development *Co-first authors.

Bayer, J., Rusch, T., Zhang, L., Gläscher, J., & Sommer, T. (submitted). Dose-dependent effects of estrogen on prediction error related neural activity in the nucleus accumbens of healthy young women.

Zhou, L.*, Zhang, L.*, Su, Y., & Liang, ZY. (submitted). Is zero void? Attentional mechanism of hidden-zero effect in risky decision-making. *Co-first authors.

Zhou, L., Li. AM., Zhang, L., Li, S., & Liang, ZY. (2019). Similarity in processes of risky choice and intertemporal choice: The case of certainty effect and immediacy effect. Acta Psychologica Sinica. 51(3), 337-352.

Zhang, L., Redžepović, S., Rose, M., & Gläscher, J. (2018). Zen and the Art of Making a Bayesian Espresso. Neuron, 98(6), 1066-1068.

Hu, Y., He, L.*, Zhang, L.*, Wölk, T., Dreher, J. C., & Weber, B. (2018). Spreading inequality: Neural computations underlying paying-it-forward reciprocity. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 13(6), 578-589. *Equal contribution.

Ahn, W.-Y., Haines, N., & Zhang, L. (2017). Revealing neurocomputational mechanisms of reinforcement learning and decision-making with the hBayesDM package. Computational Psychiatry, 1, 24-57.

Yu, S., Lei. X., & Zhang, L. (2010). A survey on need-abandonment among university students. Proceedings of the 18th BNU “JingShi Cup” Academic Competition, the 3rd Prize, (in Chinese).

Zhang, L.*, Zheng, X.* (2009). An investigation of college students’ concept of death and self-identity attribution analysis. Proceedings of the 17th BNU “JingShi Cup” Academic Competition, the 2nd Prize, (in Chinese). *Co-first authors.