School of Social Sciences and Professions staff profiles content store_hidden Yanbo Hu Our staff

Dr Yanbo Hu is a senior lecturer in the psychology department at London Metropolitan University. After MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of York, she received full PhD scholarship from Royal Holloway, University of London, to further research the brain mechanism underlying saccade sequences, where she combined the usage of eye-tracker and fMRI. Her research skills further developed during her postdoc at the University of Reading, Centre for Intergrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, working on the brain mechanism of emotion regulation using both fMRI and TMS. She discovered that the possible new role of the cerebellum involvement in emotion regulation, which was very exciting new finding. Her current research interest is in applied cognitive neuroscience, particularly in emotion regulation and decision making, neuroeconomics. She is also involved in internet gaming research projects.

• Teaching
  • Module leader for core modules, biological psychology, across UG and MSc levels.
  • PhD supervision
• Research
  • Highly productive in research output. Since been in LondonMet from 2017, published 7 peer-reviewed papers in highly respected journals, 4 of which have been selected for REF output. Presented in the most prestige international neuroscience conference as well.
  • Continuous development of existing research profiles on decision making, emotion regulation as well as online gambling research
  • Planning new research profile ‘brain in school’, with wider impact
  • Being invited as well as actively reaching out collaborations between UK and China

Journal articles

• H Zheng, Y Hu, Z Wang, M Wang, X Du, G Dong Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 109656 Meta-analyses of the functional neural alterations in subjects with Internet gaming disorder: Similarities and differences across different paradigms
• M Wang, Y Hu, Z Wang, X Du, G Dong Neuroscience letters 698, 44-50 Sex difference in the effect of Internet gaming disorder on the brain functions: Evidence from resting-state fMRI
• Wang, Z., Liu, X., Hu, Y., Zheng, H., Du, X., Dong, G. (2018). Altered brain functional networks in Internet gaming disorder: Independent component and graph theoretical analysis under a probability-discounting task. CNS Spectrums
• Wang, Z., Wu, L., Yuan, K., Hu, Y., Zheng, H., Du, X., & Dong, G. (2018). Cortical thickness and volume abnormalities in internet gaming disorder: Evidence from a comparison of recreational internet game users. European Journal of Neuroscience. 8
• Liu, X, Lin, X, Zheng, M, Hu, Y, Wang, Y, Wang, L, Du, X and Dong, G (2018). Internet Search Alters Intra- and Inter-regional Synchronization in the Temporal Gyrus. Frontiers in Psychology. 9:260
• Wang, Y, Hu, Y, Zhou, H, Xu, J, Lin, X, Du, X, Dong, G (2017) Dysfunctional prefrontal function is associated with impulsivity in people with internet gaming disorder during a delay discounting task. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 8: article 287. Doi: 10.3389/fpsy.2017.00287
• Dong, G, Lin, X, Hu, Y, Xie, C and Du, X (2015). Imbalanced functional link between executive control network and reward network explain online-game seeking behaviours in internet gaming disorder. Science Report, 5:9197.
• Dong, G, Zhou, H, Lin, X, Hu, Y, and Lu, Q (2014). Why the processing of repeated targets is better than that of no repetition: evidence from easy-to-difficult and difficult-to-easy switching situations. Behavioural and Brain Functions.
• Dong, G*, Hu, Y* (equal contribution), Lin X, and Lu, Q (2013). What makes Internet addicts continue playing online even when faced by severe negative consequences? Possible explanations from an fMRI study. Biol Psychol. 2013 Aug 6, 282-289.
• Dong, G*, Hu, Y* (equal contribution), Lin, X, and Du, X (2013). Reward/punishment sensitivities among internet addicts: Implications for their addictive behaviours. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. 46, 139-145.
• Dong, G, Lin X, Hu, Y, Lu, Q (2013). Brain Activity in Advantageous and Disadvantageous Situations: Implications for Reward/Punishment Sensitivity in Different Situations.
• Hu, Y and Walker, R (2011). The neural basis of parallel saccade programming: a functional imaging (fMRI) study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23, 3669-3680.
• Dong, G, Hu, Y, Wu, H (2010). The presentation order of cue and target matters in deception study. Behavioural and Brain Functions, 6:63.
• Dong G, Hu Y and Zhou H (2010). Event-related potential measures of the intending process: Time course and related ERP components. Behavioural and Brain Functions. 6,15.
• Dong, G, Yang, L, Hu Y, and Jiang Y (2009). Is N2 associated with successful suppression of behaviour responses in impulse control processes? NeuroReport, 20: 537-542.

Conference proceedings

Poster presentations

• Hu, Y and Walker, R (2018) The investigation of saccade parallel programming using a novel double-step paradigm. Organization for Human Brain Mapping.
• Hu, Y, Robin Walker and Andy Smith (2008). “An investigation of brain mechanisms underlying parallel programming of saccade sequences”. The 16th Annual Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting
• Hu, Y, Puzzo, I, Henne, T, Johnstone, T (2013). An emerging member of the neuronal network of emotion regulation: The Cerebellum. Society for Neuroscience. San Diego.
• Hu, Y, Puzzo, I, Henne, T, Johnstone, T (2013). “The neuronal mechanisms underlying both Instructed and Spontaneous emotion regulation” The 20 th Annual Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting. San Francisco.
• Puzzo, I, Henne, B, Hu, Y, Johnstone, T (2013). “The effect of fMRI-guided continuous Theta Burst Stimulation (cTBS) on the spontaneous regulation of emotion”.
• Henne, T, Puzzo, I, Hu, Y, Johnstone, T (2013). “Physiological Effects of Theta burst Stimulation on Instructed and Spontaneous emotion regulation”.

Symposium presentation

Robin Walker, Andy Smith and Yanbo Hu (2009). “The neural basis of the parallel programming of saccades: An fMRI study.” The 15th European Conference on Eye Movement, 2009, Southampton. (Presenter Yanbo Hu).

• London Metropolitan University Research Grant (2018, £42k)
• Joint applicants of the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s Research Grant in 2013 for research project on the effect of internet search engines on human memory (ISIS584763SN: 2534395)
• Guarantors of Brain Travel Grants (2013)
• University of Reading Travel Grant (2013)
• University of Reading Travel Grants (2012)
• Experimental Psychology Society Grindley (2009)
• Thomas Holloway Research Studentship (2006)
• University of London’s KC Wong Postgraduate Scholarship (2006)
• RHUL Psychology Department PhD Studentship (2006)

Dr Yanbo Hu
Senior Lecturer in Psychology
y.hu@londonmet.ac.uk