My research focuses on the effects of stress on brain function with a focus on executive functions. I use research to develop and test digital innovations aimed to promote human wellbeing and resilience (i.e. learning and mental health). I completed my scholarly training at UC Berkeley, Harvard University, and UC Irvine where I conducted research at Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (UC Berkeley, Knight Lab), The Sandler Neuroscience Center (UCSF, Gazzeley Lab), and Working Memory Plasticity Lab (UC Irvine, Jaeggi Lab). I completed my postdoctoral research fellowship at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research where I continue to lead research studies (MIT, Gabrieli Lab).

My work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Institute for Clinical and Translational Science Center, Conte Center on Brain Programming in Adolescent Vulnerabilities, UC Adolescent Grant Fellow on the study of Developmental Science of Adolescence, and private foundations such as Schmidt Futures and Accenture.

My original research has been published in top peer-review journals including Journal of Neuroscience, Brain & Cognition, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, and Frontiers in Psychology.

 

Publications

Fuhrmann, G.A., Hein, G., Tsai, N., Naumer, N.J., Knight, R.T. (2008) Temporal Characteristics of Audiovisual Information Processing. Journal of Neuroscience, 29 (20): 5344-5349.

Au, J., Sheehan, E., Tsai, N., Stegman, A., Duncan, G., Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. (2015). Improving Fluid Intelligence with Training on Working Memory: A Meta-Analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 22(2), 366-377.

Tsai, N., Kamarsu, S., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., Shah, P., & Jaeggi, S. (2018). (Un)Great Expectations: Examining Placebo Effects in Working Memory Training. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 7(4), 564-573.

Tsai, N., Eccles, J., & Jaeggi, S.M (2019). Stress and Executive Control: Mechanisms, Moderators, and Malleability. Brain and Cognition, 133, 54-59.

Tsai, N., Jaeggi, S., Eccles, J., Atherton, O., & Robins, R. (2020). Predicting Late Adolescent Anxiety from Early Adolescent Environmental Stress Exposure: Cognitive Control as Mediator. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1838.

Tsai, N., Mukhopadhyay, S., & Quas, J. (2021). Multi-Systems Approaches: Understanding Stress and Working Memory in Children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 54, 145-154.

Tsai, N., Hawkesworth, J., Dieffenbach, J., Hua, D., Eneva, E., & Gabrieli, J. (2024). Social Good Reappraisal as a Novel and Effective Emotion Regulation Strategy. Plos one, 19(6), e0305756.

Tsai, N., Treeves, I., Bauer, C., Scherer, E., Cabellero, C., & Gabrieli, J. (2024). Dispositional Mindfulness: Dissociable Affective and Cognitive Processes. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

Albaladejo-Gonzalez, M., Gaspar-Marco, R., Tsai, N., Marmol, F., Ruiperez-Valiente, J. (2024). A Multi-Modal Study of the Interplay Between Stress, Executive Function, and Biometrics in Game-Based Assessment. Expert Systems with Applications, 242, 122864.