Travel Direction as a Fundamental Component of Navigation
We show that travel direction is a fundamental component of human navigation. 
Area of Research
Human Navigation, Brain-Inspired Computing, Computational Neuroscience, Neuroimaging
My current research revolves around two questions: How does the brain work during navigation? And, how does the environment influence people’s cognition?
In answering the first question, I research individual differences in the perception of distance, direction, and decision-making during wayfinding. Particularly, I look at neural mechanisms of the travel direction system in the human brain by using psychophysics, fMRI, and computational modeling.
Addressing the second question, I am curious about how biased world knowledge influences people’s cognition. As 90% of human beings are right-handed, most man-made tools are designed for right-handed use. In other words, we live in a right-handed world. To look at how biased world knowledge influences cognition at different spatial scales, I test left-handed and right-handed human and virtual robots in spatial tasks.
My research agenda expands to scientific questions that range across spatial and temporal scales. For example, I ask how neuroinflammation in the medial temporal lobe contributes to spatial disorientation. Additionally, I am interested in the sex differences in spatial abilities across different countries and continents, and how we understand different navigation strategies from an evolutionary perspective (e.g., hunter-gatherer theory). I would like to pursue a career that leverages brain science towards the advancement of artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence towards a greater understanding of the human brain.
Current:
- Travel direction as a fundamental component of human navigation
- A biologically plausible neural network for motion adaptation of travel direction
- Neural representation of direction in exploring a complex environment
- Separate neural mechanisms for head direction and travel direction
- How handedness is influenced by world knowledge using neurorobots
- The relationship between spatial abilities and bandit task risk-taking behaviors
- Global sex differences in travel trajectory using a dataset from a mobile game
Completed:
- The influence of handedness in the mental rotation of hands
- Temporal and spatial distance perception towards famous people
- Geovisualization of global sex differences in mental rotation ability
- Network analyses of the collaboration among research sites over the past four decades
Neural Representation of Direction in Exploration and Navigation
We show different direction classification performance in neural networks during navigation in a complex environment. We also observed a relationship between individual differences in the classification strength in each brain region and navigation performance. 
Handedness in the Mental Rotation of Hands
We show that embodied experience influences spatial thinking about right hands, which might account for the presence of world knowledge variability in the mental rotation task, while also suggesting that common external experience shapes performance in spatial thinking tasks. 
Perception of Space and Time Distance Towards Famous People
We show that people’s perception of spatial distance toward famous people is influenced by time distance. The more historical the person, the bigger the influence of the time distance. 
Global Sex Differences in Travel Trajectory Using a Dataset From a Mobile Game
We look at navigation paths in males and females from a mobile game – Sea Hero Quest. 
Geovisualization of Global Sex Differences in Mental Rotation Ability
We observed consistent sex differences in mental rotation ability and line angle judgment ability across countries. 