Chiang-Shan Ray Li, MD, PhD
Professor of Psychiatry and of NeuroscienceDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Appointments
Psychiatry
Primary
Neuroscience
Secondary
Contact Info
Psychiatry
CMHC S112, 34 Park Street
New Haven, CT 06519
United States
About
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Titles
Professor of Psychiatry and of Neuroscience
Biography
I am a Professor of Psychiatry and of Neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine. I graduated from National Taiwan University College of Medicine and California Institute of Technology and has been a faculty member at Yale since 2003. My earlier work employed non-human primate models to understand the neural bases of cognition. Current research in my laboratory continues to focus on systems neuroscience. By combining psychophysics, computational modeling and brain imaging we explore the circuit mechanisms of a multitude of cognitive constructs, including self control, affect regulation, and reward-related processes. The primary goals are to understand systems neural bases of these cognitive processes and how these neural processes contribute to the etiology of psychiatric and neurological illnesses, with a specific emphasis on addiction.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
Psychiatry
ProfessorPrimaryNeuroscience
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Resident
- Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (2001)
- Postdoctoral Associate
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1998)
- PhD
- California Institute of Technology, Computation and Neural Systems (1996)
- MD
- National Taiwan University, Medicine (1989)
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Alcohols; Anatomy; Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms; Behavior Control; Biological Therapy; Central Nervous System; Chemicals and Drugs; Diseases; Drug Users; Mental Disorders; Nervous System; Nervous System Diseases; Psychiatry and Psychology; Psychological Phenomena; Research Subjects; Therapeutics
ORCID
0000-0002-9393-1212
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Chiang-Shan Ray Li's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Chiang-Shan Ray Li's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Chiang-Shan Ray Li is interested in exploring.
Xingguang Luo, MD
Shefali Chaudhary
Jaime Ide, PhD
Sheng Zhang, PhD
Thang Le, PhD
Herta Chao, MD, PhD
384Publications
19,201Citations
Mental Disorders
Central Nervous System
Drug Users
Nervous System Diseases
Publications
2026
Seeking stimulation: Memory and arousal in high vs. low sensation seekers
Li L, Wang P, Wei P, Guo X, Tang X, Li C, Hu K, Li Q, Guo C. Seeking stimulation: Memory and arousal in high vs. low sensation seekers. Personality And Individual Differences 2026, 259: 113859. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2026.113859.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsHigh sensation seekersLow sensation seekersSensation-seekingSensation seekersSensation-seeking traitsNovelty detectionReward processingMemory processesEmotional valenceLoss stimuliNovel stimuliExperiment 3Experiment 1Experiment 2Neural mechanismsEmotional intensityArousal systemSS traitArousalMemoryOutcome intensityStimuliEmotional impactLoss magnitudeRewardRegional, functional and transcriptomic decoding of multidimensional brain structure alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder
Cardoso Saraiva L, Sato J, Sebenius I, Dzinalija N, del Río-Torné C, Godinho F, Lopes A, Fernandez T, Lima M, Ramos V, Iglesio R, Abe Y, Alonso P, Ameis S, Anticevic A, Araújo A, Arnold P, Balachander S, Banaj N, Batistuzzo M, Benedetti F, Bollettini I, Bravi B, Brennan B, Buitelaar J, Castelo-Branco M, Choi S, Costa A, Dallaspezia S, Denys D, Duarte I, Echevarria M, Eng G, Fernandes A, Feusner J, Figee M, Fitzsimmons S, Fontenelle L, Grazioplene R, Ha M, Hinojosa A, Hoexter M, Huijser C, Hu H, James A, Kim M, Kwon J, Lazaro L, Lochner C, Machado-Sousa M, van Marle H, Martínez-Zalacaín I, Mataix-Cols D, Menchón J, Minuzzi L, Morgado P, Muñoz-Moreno E, Nakao T, Narayanaswamy J, Nurmi E, O’Neill J, Park I, Phillips M, Piacentini J, Picó-Pérez M, Piras F, Piras F, Postma T, Li C, Reddy J, van Rooij D, Sakai Y, de Salles Andrade J, Scheffler F, Shivakumar V, Soreni N, Stern E, van der Straten A, Thomopoulos S, Tomiyama H, Tovar-Moll F, Vecchio D, Veltman D, Venkatasubramanian G, Vriend C, Wang Z, van der Werf Y, van Wingen G, Zhao Q, Charney A, Cho Y, Shavitt R, Pushkarskaya H, Soriano-Mas C, Romero-Garcia R, Thompson P, Stein D, van den Heuvel O, Winkler A, Miguel Filho E, Pittenger C, Cappi C. Regional, functional and transcriptomic decoding of multidimensional brain structure alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Nature Communications 2026 PMID: 42343090, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-74153-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsObsessive-compulsive disorderPostmortem brain studiesBrain morphologyStudies of obsessive-compulsive disorderCortical alterationsStudies of brain morphologyDorsolateral prefrontal cortexBrain structural alterationsSubcortical shape alterationsTranscriptomic decodingPrefrontal cortexFrontoparietal networkDefault modeNeuroimaging phenotypesSensorimotor regionsMental illnessNetwork phenotypesRegional alterationsCortical curvatureExcitatory neuronsDisordersStructural phenotypesMedication useGene expression patternsSimilar alterationsSex differences in resting-state hypothalamic connectivity and its relationship with negative emotion and behavior measures in young adults
Li G, Shao Y, Yang L, Su Y, Wang M, Zhang Z, Sun X, Li B, Wang X, Chen Y, Bin G, Li C. Sex differences in resting-state hypothalamic connectivity and its relationship with negative emotion and behavior measures in young adults. Brain Structure And Function 2026, 231: 79. PMID: 42223498, DOI: 10.1007/s00429-026-03131-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsNegative emotionsSex differencesYoung Adult datasetBehavioral measuresFunctional connectivityConnectivity markersRegulation of negative emotionsAchenbach Adult Self-ReportSelf-reported negative emotionsAnxiety scoresRule-breakingNeural circuitsHuman Connectome Project Young Adult datasetLateral orbitofrontal cortexLeft fusiform gyrusNegative emotional traitsAdult Self-ReportHypothalamic functional connectivitySuperior parietal gyrusPotential sex differencesAnti-socialLower anxiety scoresOrbitofrontal cortexDrinking severityEmotional processingGABAergic bases of connectivity alterations in the ventral tegmental area of young drinkers: An analysis using the combined technologies of JuSpace toolbox and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging
Wang S, Hao D, Su Y, Wang X, Yan Y, Chen Y, Li G, Li C. GABAergic bases of connectivity alterations in the ventral tegmental area of young drinkers: An analysis using the combined technologies of JuSpace toolbox and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Advanced Technology in Neuroscience 2026, 3: 49-56. DOI: 10.4103/atn.atn-d-25-00031.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsVentral tegmental areaResting-state functional connectivityAlcohol use severityVTA connectivityHuman Connectome ProjectMesocortical circuitJuSpace toolboxAssociated with alcohol use severityWhole-brain regression analysesMeasures of alcohol use severityRight inferior frontal gyrusResting-state functional magnetic resonance imagingFunctional magnetic resonance imagingAssociated with alcohol misuseInferior frontal gyrusYoung adultsReward predictionReward circuitSalience processingTegmental areaFrontal gyrusPars opercularisMotivated behaviorNeurochemical mechanismsConnectivity alterationsEarly Clinical Symptom Patterns Predict the Subsequent Treatment Response of Patients with Acute Schizophrenia
Liu Z, Chen W, Wang X, Huang J, Gou M, Han H, Wang J, Wang D, Chen S, Xie T, Tian L, Luo X, Li C, Li Y, Tan Y. Early Clinical Symptom Patterns Predict the Subsequent Treatment Response of Patients with Acute Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2026, 52: sbag009. PMID: 41863369, PMCID: PMC13005118, DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbag009.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPositive and Negative Syndrome ScalePoor treatment respondersClinical symptom patternsSymptom patternsAcute schizophreniaSymptom changeSymptom trajectoriesTreatment respondersPositive and Negative Syndrome Scale changeTreatment responseTreatment outcomesEarly treatment responsePredictors of treatment outcomeEarly symptom changeNegative Syndrome ScaleClinical symptom severityClinical symptom profilesAntipsychotic treatmentLong-term treatment outcomesSyndrome ScalePrediction of treatment responseSymptom severitySymptom profilesWeek 2SchizophreniaHappy and threatening faces differentially influence facilitation and interference over time
Hu K, Hu Y, Liu F, Fan Q, Xu H, Li Q, He S, Li C. Happy and threatening faces differentially influence facilitation and interference over time. Psychological Research 2026, 90: 36. PMID: 41697379, DOI: 10.1007/s00426-026-02237-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsStages of task performanceMean-level changeFindings challenge modelsInfluence of emotionsHappy facesFlanker taskThreat facesHappy expressionsThreat expressionsEmotional modulationAttentional benefitsFacilitation effectEmotional signalsNeutral baselineTask performanceEarly facilitationEmotional conditionsFacial expressionsFlankerEmotionsFacilitationFaceHabituationHappinessAttentionAlcohol misuse and negative emotion processing in neurotypical drinkers: Sex differences in behavioral and neural markers
Chaudhary S, Chen Y, Wong H, Chao H, Li C. Alcohol misuse and negative emotion processing in neurotypical drinkers: Sex differences in behavioral and neural markers. Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging 2026, 358: 112174. PMID: 41691915, PMCID: PMC12990894, DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2026.112174.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsNegative emotion processingMiddle frontal gyrusEmotional processingNegative emotionsSex differencesAlcohol misuseProblem drinkingMiddle frontal gyrus activationAssociated with individual differencesBilateral middle frontal gyrusHigher-level cognitive processesPrefrontal cortical activityWhole-brain regressionAlcohol Use Disorders Identification TestAUDIT scoreDisorders Identification TestImpact of negative emotionsFrontal gyrusCommunity sampleIndividual differencesCognitive processesImpact of alcohol misuseNeural markersAlcohol useIdentification TestModifications on histone tails in psychiatric disorders.
Mao Q, Luo Z, Yu Z, Chen B, Wang K, Cao Y, Ji J, Wang F, Zuo L, Li C, Wang X, Zhang Y, Luo X. Modifications on histone tails in psychiatric disorders. EC Psychology And Psychiatry 2026, 15 PMID: 42079388, PMCID: PMC13134692.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPsychiatric disordersHistone tail modificationsMajor depressive disorderSubstance use disordersAutism spectrum disorderTail modificationsDepressive disorderUse disorderSpectrum disorderHistone tailsDisordersAlzheimer's diseaseAbnormal gene expressionHistone modificationsH4 tailPotential therapeutic strategyEpigenetic regulationBiological functionsGene expressionHistoneMolecular mechanismsTherapeutic strategiesSchizophreniaAutismLiterature searchFunctional inputs to the subgenual cingulate cortex differentiate levels of depressive symptom severity in neurotypical young adults: granger causality and clustering analyses
Li H, Chen Y, Chaudhary S, Ide J, Li C. Functional inputs to the subgenual cingulate cortex differentiate levels of depressive symptom severity in neurotypical young adults: granger causality and clustering analyses. The International Journal Of Neuropsychopharmacology 2026, 29: pyag005. PMID: 41665262, PMCID: PMC12962302, DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyag005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDepressive symptom severityLevels of depressive symptom severityNeurotypical young adultsSymptom severityGranger causality analysisCingulate cortexNeurotypical populationSubgenual anterior cingulate cortexSubgenual cingulate cortexAnterior cingulate cortexAdult Self-ReportYoung adultsScores of depressionHuman Connectome ProjectOrbitofrontal cortexDepressive disorderAnterior insulaComorbid symptomsDepressive traitsFronto-parietalExternalizing problemsSgACCTemporal cortexBrain regionsFunctional connectivityHippocampal subfield differences in people with and without recreational ketamine use: Insights from multi‐modal neuroimaging
Liu Y, Hung C, Potenza M, Chou K, Lee P, Huang C, Li C, Lee T, Lin C. Hippocampal subfield differences in people with and without recreational ketamine use: Insights from multi‐modal neuroimaging. Addiction 2026, 121: 1541-1556. PMID: 41612591, PMCID: PMC13155325, DOI: 10.1111/add.70331.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsFunctional connectivityRecreational ketamine usePsychiatric symptomsWorking-memoryKetamine useHippocampal subregionsGroup differencesAssociated with greater psychological distressSelf-reported impulsivityHippocampal subregion volumesWorking-memory loadLeft hippocampal volumeSeed-based analysisHippocampal subfield volumesGreater psychological distressN-methyl-D-aspartateChronic ketamine useMulti-modal neuroimagingReward/punishment sensitivityN-methyl-D-aspartate-N-backNMDA-receptor distributionSubregion volumesCognitive concernsMemory impairment
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Biomarkers of Clinical Subtype and Treatment Response in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
IRB ID0803003626RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date04/19/2025Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge18 years - 70 years
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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Activities
activity NIH
07/01/2017 - PresentPeer Review Groups and Grant Study SectionsMember
Honors
honor Fellow, International College of Neuropsychopharmacology
07/01/2019International AwardDetailsUnited Stateshonor Member, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
12/01/2016International AwardDetailsUnited Stateshonor Fellow, Association of Psychological Science
11/01/2016International AwardDetailsUnited States
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Psychiatry
CMHC S112, 34 Park Street
New Haven, CT 06519
United States