Nanyin Zhang

Director of the Center for Neurotechnology in Mental Health Research; Huck Chair in Brain Imaging; Professor of Bioengineering

Nanyin Zhang

Research Summary

Investigating the pathophysiology of brain disorders using neuroimaging, behavioral and optogenetic methods.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Genetic influences of resting-state neural networks: a twin study

Y Fu, Z Ma, C Hamilton, Z Liang, X Hou, X Ma, X Hu, H Meng, Q He, W Deng, Y Wang, L Zhao, T Li, Nanyin Zhang, Human Brain Mapping on p. 3959–3972

An open database of resting-state fMRI in awake rats

Yikang Liu, Pablo Perez, Zilu Ma, Zhiwei Ma, David Dopfel, Samuel Cramer, Wenyu Tu, Nanyin Zhang, NeuroImage on p. 1170942

A splitting mind: imbalanced internal and external worlds in schizophrenia

M Li, W Deng, Z He, Q Wang, C Huang, L Jiang, Q Gong, D Ziedonis, J King, X Ma, Nanyin Zhang, Tao Li, on p. 145-153

Relationship of mindful awareness to neural processing of anger stimuli and impact of mindfulness training

A Lee, D Gansler, Nanyin Zhang, M Jerram, J King, C Fulwiler, Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging on p. 22-28

Sex-specific signatures of GLP-1 and amylin on resting state brain activity and functional connectivity in awake rats

Tanzil M. Arefin, Stina Börchers, Doris Olekanma, Samuel R. Cramer, Morgan R. Sotzen, Nanyin Zhang, Karolina P. Skibicka, 2025, Neuropharmacology

Neuroimaging Model of Visceral Manipulation in an Awake Rat

Samuel R. Cramer, Xu Han, Dennis C.Y. Chan, Thomas Neuberger, Nanyin Zhang, 2025, Journal of Neuroscience

Biodegradable Citrate-Based Polymers Enable 5D Monitoring of Implant Evolution

Dingying Shan, Dingbowen Wang, Yuncong Ma, Zhifeng Liang, Dino J. Ravnic, Nanying Zhang, Jian Yang, 2025, Advanced Functional Materials

Sequential Deactivation Across the Hippocampus-Thalamus-mPFC Pathway During Loss of Consciousness

Xiaoai Chen, Samuel R. Cramer, Dennis C.Y. Chan, Xu Han, Nanyin Zhang, 2024, Advanced Science

Disparity in temporal and spatial relationships between resting-state electrophysiological and fMRI signals

Wenyu Tu, Samuel R. Cramer, Nanyin Zhang, 2024, eLife

Exploring memory-related network via dorsal hippocampus suppression

Xu Han, Samuel Cramer, Dennis Chan, Nanyin Zhang, 2024, Network Neuroscience on p. 1310-1330

Most-Cited Papers

Co-activation patterns in resting-state fMRI signals

Xiao Liu, Nanyin Zhang, Catie Chang, Jeff H. Duyn, 2018, NeuroImage on p. 485-494

Time to wake up: Studying neurovascular coupling and brain-wide circuit function in the un-anesthetized animal

Yu Rong Gao, Yuncong Ma, Qingguang Zhang, Aaron T. Winder, Zhifeng Liang, Lilith Antinori, Patrick J. Drew, Nanyin Zhang, 2017, NeuroImage on p. 382-398

Rodent models of post-traumatic stress disorder: behavioral assessment

Alexander Verbitsky, David Dopfel, Nanyin Zhang, 2020, Translational Psychiatry

Dynamic resting state functional connectivity in awake and anesthetized rodents

Zhifeng Liang, Xiao Liu, Nanyin Zhang, 2015, NeuroImage on p. 89-99

Mapping the functional network of medial prefrontal cortex by combining optogenetics and fMRI in awake rats

Zhifeng Liang, Glenn D.R. Watson, Kevin D. Alloway, Gangchea Lee, Thomas Neuberger, Nanyin Zhang, 2015, NeuroImage on p. 114-123

A role for the claustrum in salience processing?

Jared B. Smith, Glenn D.R. Watson, Zhifeng Liang, Yikang Liu, Nanyin Zhang, Kevin D. Alloway, 2019, Frontiers in Neuroanatomy

Dynamic Connectivity Patterns in Conscious and Unconscious Brain

Yuncong Ma, Christina Hamilton, Nanyin Zhang, 2017, Brain Connectivity on p. 1-12

Genetic influences on resting-state functional networks: A twin study

Yixiao Fu, Zhiwei Ma, Christina Hamilton, Zhifeng Liang, Xiao Hou, Xingshun Ma, Xiaomei Hu, Qian He, Wei Deng, Yingcheng Wang, Liansheng Zhao, Huaqing Meng, Tao Li, Nanyin Zhang, 2015, Human Brain Mapping on p. 3959-3972

A consensus protocol for functional connectivity analysis in the rat brain

Joanes Grandjean, Gabriel Desrosiers-Gregoire, Cynthia Anckaerts, Diego Angeles-Valdez, Fadi Ayad, David A. Barrière, Ines Blockx, Aleksandra Bortel, Margaret Broadwater, Beatriz M. Cardoso, Marina Célestine, Jorge E. Chavez-Negrete, Sangcheon Choi, Emma Christiaen, Perrin Clavijo, Luis Colon-Perez, Samuel Cramer, Tolomeo Daniele, Elaine Dempsey, Yujian Diao, Arno Doelemeyer, David Dopfel, Lenka Dvořáková, Claudia Falfán-Melgoza, Francisca F. Fernandes, Caitlin F. Fowler, Antonio Fuentes-Ibañez, Clément Garin, Eveline Gelderman, Carla E.M. Golden, Chao C.G. Guo, Marloes J.A.G. Henckens, Lauren A. Hennessy, Peter Herman, Nita Hofwijks, Corey Horien, Tudor M. Ionescu, Jolyon Jones, Johannes Kaesser, Eugene Kim, Henriette Lambers, Alberto Lazari, Sung Ho Lee, Amanda Lillywhite, Yikang Liu, Yanyan Y. Liu, Alejandra López -Castro, Xavier López-Gil, Zilu Ma, Eilidh MacNicol, Dan Madularu, Francesca Mandino, Sabina Marciano, Matthew J. McAuslan, Patrick McCunn, Alison McIntosh, Xianzong Meng, Lisa Meyer-Baese, Stephan Missault, Federico Moro, Daphne M.P. Naessens, Laura J. Nava-Gomez, Hiroi Nonaka, Juan J. Ortiz, Jaakko Paasonen, Lore M. Peeters, Mickaël Pereira, Pablo D. Perez, Marjory Pompilus, Malcolm Prior, Rustam Rakhmatullin, Henning M. Reimann, Jonathan Reinwald, Rodrigo Triana Del Rio, Alejandro Rivera-Olvera, Daniel Ruiz-Pérez, Gabriele Russo, Tobias J. Rutten, Rie Ryoke, Markus Sack, Piergiorgio Salvan, Basavaraju G. Sanganahalli, Aileen Schroeter, Bhedita J. Seewoo, Erwan Selingue, Aline Seuwen, Bowen Shi, Nikoloz Sirmpilatze, Joanna A.B. Smith, Corrie Smith, Filip Sobczak, Petteri J. Stenroos, Milou Straathof, Sandra Strobelt, Akira Sumiyoshi, Kengo Takahashi, Maria E. Torres-García, Raul Tudela, Monica van den Berg, Kajo van der Marel, Aran T.B. van Hout, Roberta Vertullo, Benjamin Vidal, Roël M. Vrooman, Victora X. Wang, Isabel Wank, David J.G. Watson, Ting Yin, Yongzhi Zhang, Stefan Zurbruegg, Sophie Achard, Sarael Alcauter, Dorothee P. Auer, Emmanuel L. Barbier, Jürgen Baudewig, Christian F. Beckmann, Nicolau Beckmann, Guillaume J.P.C. Becq, Erwin L.A. Blezer, Radu Bolbos, Susann Boretius, Sandrine Bouvard, Eike Budinger, Joseph D. Buxbaum, Diana Cash, Victoria Chapman, Kai Hsiang Chuang, Luisa Ciobanu, Bram F. Coolen, Jeffrey W. Dalley, Marc Dhenain, Rick M. Dijkhuizen, Oscar Esteban, Cornelius Faber, Marcelo Febo, Kirk W. Feindel, Gianluigi Forloni, Jérémie Fouquet, Eduardo A. Garza-Villarreal, Natalia Gass, Jeffrey C. Glennon, Alessandro Gozzi, Olli Gröhn, Andrew Harkin, Arend Heerschap, Xavier Helluy, Kristina Herfert, Arnd Heuser, Judith R. Homberg, Danielle J. Houwing, Fahmeed Hyder, Giovanna Diletta Ielacqua, Ileana O. Jelescu, Heidi Johansen-Berg, Gen Kaneko, Ryuta Kawashima, Shella D. Keilholz, Georgios A. Keliris, Clare Kelly, Christian Kerskens, Jibran Y. Khokhar, Peter C. Kind, Jean Baptiste Langlois, Jason P. Lerch, Monica A. López-Hidalgo, Denise Manahan-Vaughan, Fabien Marchand, Rogier B. Mars, Gerardo Marsella, Edoardo Micotti, Emma Muñoz-Moreno, Jamie Near, Thoralf Niendorf, Willem M. Otte, Patricia Pais-Roldán, Wen Ju Pan, Roberto A. Prado-Alcalá, Gina L. Quirarte, Jennifer Rodger, Tim Rosenow, Cassandra Sampaio-Baptista, Alexander Sartorius, Stephen J. Sawiak, Tom W.J. Scheenen, Noam Shemesh, Yen Yu Ian Shih, Amir Shmuel, Guadalupe Soria, Ron Stoop, Garth J. Thompson, Sally M. Till, Nick Todd, Annemie Van Der Linden, Annette van der Toorn, Geralda A.F. van Tilborg, Christian Vanhove, Andor Veltien, Marleen Verhoye, Lydia Wachsmuth, Wolfgang Weber-Fahr, Patricia Wenk, Xin Yu, Valerio Zerbi, Nanyin Zhang, Baogui B. Zhang, Luc Zimmer, Gabriel A. Devenyi, M. Mallar Chakravarty, Andreas Hess, 2023, Nature Neuroscience on p. 673-681

Brain Activity Fluctuations Propagate as Waves Traversing the Cortical Hierarchy

Yameng Gu, Yameng *Gu, Lucas E. Sainburg, Lucas *Sainburg, Sizhe Kuang, Sizhe *Kuang, Feng Han, Feng *Han, Jack *Williams, Jack W. Williams, Yikang Liu, Nanyin Zhang, Xiang Zhang, David A. Leopold, Xiao Liu, 2021, Cerebral Cortex on p. 3986-4005

News Articles Featuring Nanyin Zhang

Jul 16, 2025

When dreams turn dark: Neuroscientists to study nightmares and mental health

Dreams, and likely nightmares, are experienced universally across humans and animals, but neuroscientists still do not know why. Now, with a three-year, $1.2 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Penn State will study the underlying mechanisms of nightmares and their relationship with anxiety-related mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Full Article

Jul 09, 2025

Penn State professors receive $2.9 million grant to research the effects of adolescent binge drinking

Two Penn State professors were awarded a $2.9 million grant to fund a five-year study on the long-term effects of alcohol exposure in adolescence.

Full Article

Jun 04, 2025

$2.9M grant funds study on long-term effects adolescent binge drinking

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Penn State will use a new five-year, $2,900,000 grant to investigate the long-term effects of excess alcohol drinking during adolescence.

Full Article

Dec 10, 2024

Brain mechanisms underpinning loss of consciousness identified

Rapid activity in three brain regions appears to trigger loss of consciousness, researchers at Penn State find.

Full Article

Nov 08, 2024

Uncharted territory: A Q&A with Nanyin Zhang on mapping brain activity

To understand how different regions of the brain work together, researchers use a method called resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI). The method measures brain activity by observing changes in blood flow to different parts of the brain; however, rsfMRI does not explain how these blood flow changes to different brain regions relate to what is happening with the brain’s neurons — cells that send and receive messages in the form of electronic signals.

Full Article

Jan 30, 2024

$4M grant funds project to make robotic prostheses more like biological limbs

Prosthetic hands that incorporate robotics can perform dexterous self-care tasks, but they are often hard to operate, requiring a user’s constant attention with a limited number of hand functions. With a five-year, $4 million U.S. National Science Foundation grant, Penn State researchers aim to make robotic protheses more useful for people living with amputations.

Full Article

Nov 10, 2022

Breathing may measurably modulate neural responses across brain, study finds

Mental health practitioners and meditation gurus have long credited intentional breathing with the ability to induce inner calm, but scientists do not fully understand how the brain is involved in the process.

Full Article

Nov 09, 2021

Penn State launches Center for Neurotechnology in Mental Health Research

Penn State is launching a University-wide center to bridge fundamental research to understand the brain and mind with potential clinical applications for diagnosing and treating mental health disorders.

Full Article

Jul 24, 2020

Researchers to examine relation of dysfunctional brain hubs to mental disorders

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Penn State researchers a $1.85 million grant to develop a new way to test if dysfunctions in certain areas of the brain lead to mental health complications and brain disorders. If successful, the research could lead to better mental health treatments.

Full Article