Dr. Tang has been faculty at the universities since 1987 and has been a full professor and director of the Institute of Neuroinformatics in China since 2001. He is a research professor at the University of Oregon working with Prof. Michael Posner in researching applied meditation training, attention and self-regulation. Dr. Tang has developed Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) and is applying IBMT training attention and self-regulation for children, adolescents and adults.
Dr. Tang has been internationally known for the use of functional MRI to examine brain connectivity in cognitive task and found cultures shape math processing in the brain (Tang etal, PNAS, 2006). Based on the results from many adults and children ranging from 4 to 90 years old in China, Dr. Tang developed Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) in the 1990’s and its effects studied in China since 1995. His recent results indicated that IBMT is an easy, effective way for improvement in self-regulation in cognition, emotion and social behavior within 5 days of training (Tang etal, PNAS, 2007). IBMT improves attention and self-regulation by changing the interaction between the central (brain) and the autonomic (body) systems as indexed by ACC theta power and high frequency HRV correlation (Tang etal, PNAS, 2009). Eleven hours of IBMT induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate in the brain. Thus, IBMT could provide a means for improving self-regulation and perhaps reducing or preventing various mental disorders (Tang etal, PNAS, 2010).
Dr. Tang is APS Fellow (Association for Psychological Science) and received New Century Excellent Talents Awards from Ministry of Education in China, Distinguished Teaching Awards and Mentor Award for Graduates from university, etc. He has published more than 180 internationally/nationally peer-reviewed articles including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Neuroimage, Human Brain Mapping, Progress in Brain Research, Neurocomputing, Neural Networks, Pattern Recognition Letters, Brain Research, Neuroscience Letters, Experimental Neurology, Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, Life Science, Psychiatry Research, Stress and Health, Physica A, NeuroReport, Chinese Science Bulletin, Chin Phys Lett, Chin Med J., etc. His works have been reported and commented by leading prestigious journals such as Nature, Science, Nature Review Neuroscience, Neuron, Trends in Cognitive Sciences and many media such as the Associate Press, NBC, Reuters, NPR, Washington Post, Los Angeles Time, CBC, Oprah Magazine, Parade Magazine, Reader Digest, Prevention Magazine, New Scientists, CCTV, China Daily, etc.
