Luke J. Chang

|Associate Professor
Academic Appointments

Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Connect with Us

My research focuses on understanding the neurobiological and psychological processes underlying social interactions.  I am interested in understanding how emotions and expectations are represented in the brain and impact how we make decisions and learn in social contexts. We use computational techniques such as utility theory, reinforcement-learning, and machine-learning to develop models of these complex processes and validate our models using behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuroimaging experiments.  One application of this approach is to create a better understanding of the mechanisms by which psychosocial treatments influence our mental and physical health.

Contact

603.646.2056
Moore Hall, Room 357
HB 6207

Department(s)

Psychological and Brain Sciences

Education

  • B.A. Reed College
  • M.A. The New School for Social Research
  • PhD University of Arizona
  • Postdoc, University of Colorado Boulder

Selected Publications

  • Fareri, D.S.*, Chang, L.J.*, Delgado, M.R.  (2015).  Neural and computational mechanisms underlying interpersonal collaboration.  Journal of Neuroscience, 35(21), 8170-8180. *denotes equal contributions

     

    Chang, L.J., Gianaros, P., Manuck, S., Krishnan, K., & Wager, T.D. (2015).  A sensitive and specific neural signature for picture induced affect.  PLoS Biology, 13(6), 1-28. 

     

    Sanfey, A.G., Stallen, M., & Chang, L.J. (2014). Norms and expectations in social decision-making. Trends In Cognitive Science, 18(4), 172-174.

     

    Chang, L.J. & Koban, L. (2013).  Modeling emotion and learning of norms in social interactions.  Journal of Neuroscience, 33(18), 7615-7617. 

     

    Chang, L.J., Yarkoni, T., Khaw, M.W., & Sanfey, A.G. (2013).  Decoding the role of the human insula in human cognition: Functional parcellation and large-scale reverse inference.  Cerebral Cortex, 23(3), 739-749. 

     

    Chang, L.J., & Sanfey, A.G. (2013).  Great expectations: Neural computations underlying the use of social norms in decision-making. Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, 8(3), 277-284.

     

    Fareri, D.S., Chang, L.J., Delgado, M.R. (2012).  Effects of experienced social information on trust decisions and neural reward circuitry.  Frontiers in Decision Neuroscience, 6, 1- 17. 

     

    Kahnt, T., Chang, L.J., Park, S.Q., Heinzle, J., Haynes, J.D.  (2012).  Connectivity based parcellation of the human orbitofrontal cortex.  Journal of Neuroscience, 32(8), 6240-6250. 

     

    Harle, K.M., Chang, L.J., van't Wout, M., & Sanfey, A.G.  (2012). The neural underpinnings of mood-driven biases in social economic decision-making.  Neuroimage, 61(1), 32-40. 

     

    Chang, L.J., Smith, A., Dufwenberg, M., & Sanfey, A.G.  (2011).  Triangulating the neural, psychological, and economic bases of guilt aversion. Neuron, 70, 560-572. 

     

    Chang, L. J., Doll, B., Van't Wout, M., Frank, M., Sanfey, A.G.  (2010).  Seeing is believing: Trustworthiness as a dynamic belief.  Cognitive Psychology, 61(2), 87-105.