Yinqi Huang

Yinqi Huang

PhD Student in Cognitive Neuroscience
Virtual Navigation, Decision Making, Computation

My overarching goal is to investigate human memory in a naturalistic environment using computational models. I use naturalistic stimuli in my studies because they contain rich and dynamic information, similar to what we receive in the real world. I hope that my research findings can be generalized to real world situations. Read more about naturalistic stimuli in my presentation on the difference between reductionist vs. naturalistic stimuli.

Currently, I am studying the decision making in spatial navigation in a virtual environment, co-advised by Dr. Arne Ekstrom and Dr. Robert Wilson. Read more about why VR is naturalistic in my notes on Spatial Cognitive Map.

My undergraduate project on investigating the impact of time and event segmentation on episodic memory using movie stimuli, advised by Dr. Morgan Barense, was presented at Context and Episodic Memory Symposium and Lake Ontario Visionary Establishment.

Outside the lab, I enjoy working on projects at the intersection between cognitive neuroscience and machine learning. I am the EEG Machine Learning lead at the Neurotech University of Toronto for the 2022 summer project on the Brain–Computer Interface speller app that spells desired letters on a virtual keyboard using P300 signal.

If you are interested in my work, or want to collaborate on a project, please feel free to email me.

Research Interests:

	Human memory
	Naturalistic stimuli
	Machine learning models

Education & Work:

	PhD in Psychology; Concentration: Cognition and Neural Systems University of Arizona \| 2022 - Present
	Research Assistant: Recurrent Neural Networks and Bayesian Knowledge Tracing iBlüm Learning Company \| 2020 - 2022
	BSc in Psychology; Minor: Biology and Anthropology University of Toronto \| 2016 - 2020

Projects

Topics
# cognitive psychology; # spatial navigation	Computational Modeling of Path Integration and Landmark Navigation Using Immersive Virtual Reality Advisors: Dr. Arne Ekstrom and Dr. Robert Wilson	Aug 2022 - Present
# developmental psychology; # AI-assisted learning	Tracing Knowledge Mastery Through Time (Bayesian, Recurrent Neural Networks) Funders: National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), Scientific Research and Experimental Development Federal Program (SR&ED) Company: Devhaus Technologies REVIEW	Jun 2020 - Jul 2022
# cognitive psychology; # episodic memory	Temporal Distance & Event Boundaries Affect Recall Richness Funder: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Advisor: Dr. Morgan Barense SLIDES POSTER CODE	Sep 2019 - Dec 2020
# organizational psychology;	Using Phone to Cope With Stressors at the Workplace and at Home Supervisors: Dr. Soo Min Toh, Dr. Xian Zhao POSTER	May - Aug 2019
# social psychology; # intergroup contact	Experimenter's Gender Affect Retrieval of Implicit & Explicit Attitudes Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Page-Gould SLIDES PAPER CODE DATA	Mar 2017 - Apr 2019

Publications

	Face Perception: a Dual Process Model. Journal of Undergraduate Life Sciences	Huang, Y. (under review).
	Replicability of Two Classic Experiments in Social Psychology: Implicit Association Test and Imagined Contact. Inkblot: Undergraduate Journal of Psychology, 9 , 38-46. PDF CODE	Huang, Y. (2020).

Posters

	How do temporal context and event boundaries affect recall richness for Forrest Gump? Context and Episodic Memory Symposium, Philadelphia, PA PDF	Hong, B., Tran, M.A., Cheng, H., Huang, Y., & Barense, M.D. (2020).
	Testing retrieved-context models and event boundaries in naturalistic events. Lake Ontario Visionary Establishment, Ontario, Canada PDF	Huang, Y., Cheng, H., Tran, M., Hong, B., & Barense, M.D. (2020).
	To cope with stressors at the workplace and at home: phone use and its consequences. Smarti Gras, Ontario, Canada PDF	Huang, Y., Zhao, X., & Toh, S. M. (2019).