Xiaochen Zheng is a cognitive neuroscientist focused on cognitive control processes in language and their connections to other domains of cognitions. Her current research is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) with a Veni grant (“The age of information overload: how do we control what we say?”).

More information about Xiaochen Zheng

Research

I’ve always been passionate about cognitive control processes in the brain, especially how they are shared between language and other cognitive systems. My research explores critical questions such as: How can we sustain focus amidst overloaded information and select the message we want to convey? How do our brains represent information in a way that facilitates generalization to novel situations? How can we speak many languages and use them flexibly and effortlessly?

To address these questions, I employ a variety of neuroimaging techniques - including EEG, MEG, and functional MRI - across both healthy and clinical populations. While my primary work is often associated with language - well who can resist this incredibly complex form of cognition – I have also investigated topics like memory, action planning, and decision making.

Here are a few key projects I am working on /have worked on, you can find more details on my website: https://xiaochenzheng.github.io/projects/

1. Working memory gating in context-dependent language control
2. Neural mechanisms of generalization and novel inference
3. Control and monitoring in bilingual speech production

I am committed to team science and believe that interdisciplinary collaboration is the way to advance our science and to address societal challenges - although I am still struggling about how to implement that effectively. 

Short C.V.

After my bachelor study in Psychology at Beijing Normal University (China), I moved to Europe to further my training in cognitive neuroscience, supported by a scholarship for Academic Excellence from Tilburg University. In 2015, I began my PhD at the Donders Center for Cognition (Radboud University) with an internal grant, investigating the cognitive control processes in bilingual speech production. During my PhD, I also joined the International Max Planck Research School for Language Science and collaborated on multiple side-projects using MEG and EEG.

In 2019, I joined the Motivation and Cognitive Control lab at the Donders Center for Neuroimaging as a postdoctoral researcher. My role included daily supervision of a PhD student (co-promotor) and coordination of an interdisciplinary research team from over 10 international institutes. Together with the team, I investigate the shared mechanisms of structural learning and generalization in language processing and nonlinguistic cognitive processes (e.g., action planning) using functional MRI, MEG, and pharmacological manipulation. 

In Fall 2024, I joined the Cognitive Psychology Unit in Leiden, thanks to a Veni grant from the Dutch Research Council. With this grant, I will explore the working memory gating process in context-dependent language control - stay tuned for updates! 

Beside science, I am also curious about food, cats, and my future adventures around the world.

PhD student

Elena Mainetto (Radboud University)

Relevant links

Personal website (https://xiaochenzheng.github.io/)

Google scholar (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RcStMxAAAAAJ&hl=en)

LinkedIn (https://nl.linkedin.com/in/xiaochen-zheng-1072a4a3

Publications