Kexin Yuan Ph.D.
Principal Investigator and Associate Professor (with tenure), Tsinghua University
Our living environment is full of sensory stimuli, and we have to make appropriate reactions to them to survive. My lab tries to address a central question in neuroscience - how are sensory stimuli represented in the brain and transformed into behaviors? Particularly, we are probing the functional roles of brain regions receiving multimodal sensory inputs, such as certain subsets of the brainstem, midbrain, forebrain and basal ganglia nuclei, because we believe they are the places where sensory information from our environment are integrated and processed to shape our behaviors. We are currently using rodent, and will use non-human primate, animal models and multidisciplinary approaches, including neurophysiological recording, virus-assisted circuit tracing, opto- and chemogenetics, behavioral training, optical imaging and computing. In addition, we are also developing new research tools. In my lab, students with biological and engineering background work collaboratively, creatively and productively.
Degrees
State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ph.D., 2006
Yantai University, B.S., 2001
Appointments
Tsinghua University,School of Medicine,Department of Biomedical Engineering,Principal Investigator and Associate Professor(with tenure),2018 - present;Principal Investigator and Associate Professor,2012 - 2018
University of California, San Francisco, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2006 - 2012
University of California, Berkeley, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2006 - 2008
Selected Publications
Xiaowei Huang, Zhengrong Lin, Kaiyue Wang, Xiufang Liu, Wei Zhou, Long Meng, Jiqing Huang, Kexin Yuan, Lili Niu, Hairong Zheng (2019). Transcranial Low-intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Modulates Structural and Functional Synaptic Plasticity in Rat Hippocampus. IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2019.2903896.
Cai, D.#, Yue, Y.#, Su, X., Liu, M., Wang, Y., You, L., Xie, F., Deng, F., Chen, F., Luo, M., and Yuan, K.* (2018). Distinct Anatomical Connectivity Patterns Differentiate Subdivisions of the Non-Lemniscal Auditory Thalamus in Mice. Cereb Cortex, doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhy115.
Zhang, Y., Luo, D., Ou, T., Yuan, Z., Huang, H., You, L., Yue, Y., Zhang, M., Li, D., Li, G., Yuan, K. and Wang, Z. (2018). Design of a Compact Wireless Multi-Channel High Area-Efficient Stimulator with Arbitrary Channel Configuration. Micromachines, 9(1), 6; doi:10.3390/mi9010006.
Xie, F.#, You, L.#, Cai, D., Liu, M., Yue, Y., Wang, Y., Yuan, K.* (2017). Fast inhibitory decay facilitates adult-like temporal processing in layer 5 of developing primary auditory cortex. Cereb Cortex, 28(12): 4319-4335.
Cai, D.#, Han R#, Liu M, Xie F, You L, Zheng Y, Zhao L, Yao J, Wang Y, Yue Y, Schreiner CE and Yuan K* (2017) A critical role of inhibition in temporal processing maturation in the primary auditory cortex. Cereb Cortex, 28(5):1610–1624.
Zhao, S., Tang, M., Yuan, K., Gu, J., Yu, J., Long, X., Liu, M., Cao, J.M. and Zhang, S. (2016). Median nerve stimulation reduces ventricular arrhythmias induced by dorsomedial hypothalamic stimulation. J Interv Card Electrophysiol 47(3):275-283.
Froemke, R.C., Carcea. I., Barker, A.J., Yuan, K., Seybold, B.A., Martins, A.R., Zaika, N., Bernstein, H., Wachs, M., Levis, P.A., Polley, D.B., Merzenich, M.M. and Schreiner, C.E. (2013). Long-term modification of cortical synapses improves sensory perception. Nat Neurosci 16(1): 79-88.
Yuan, K.*, Shih, J.Y., Winer, J.A. and Schreiner, C.E. (2011). Functional networks of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in cat auditory cortex. J Neurosci 31(37): 13333-13342.
Yuan, K., Fink, K.L., Winer, J.A. and Schreiner, C.E. (2011). Local connection patterns of parvalbumin-positive inhibitory interneurons in rat primary auditory cortex. Hear Res 274(1-2): 121-128.
Yuan, K. and Shen, J. (2011) Columnar and layer-specific representation of spatial sensitivity in mouse primary auditory cortex. Neuroreport 22(11): 530-534.
Dorrn, A.L.#, Yuan, K.#, Barker, A.J., Schreiner, C.E. and Froemke. R.C. (2010). Developmental sensory experience balances cortical excitation and inhibition. Nature 465(7300): 932-936.
Yuan, K. and Shen, J. (2005). Auditory cortical neurons in the mouse have salient best azimuths. Neuroreport 16(18): 2007-2010.
Contact Information
Email: kexinyuan@tsinghua.edu.cn
Office: Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing
Phone: +86-10-62783759
Webpage: www.kexinyuan-lab.com
