Prof. Sungchil Yang achieved PhD in the department of molecular and integrative physiology, the University of Illinois at Urbana & Champaign, studying the biophysical role of individual auditory neurons (from the cochlear nucleus to the auditory cortex) in auditory information processing under the supervision of Dr. Albert S. Feng. Then, he joined Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute of the University of California at Berkeley as a postdoctoral fellow, studying mechanisms of auditory phantom pain, with Dr Shaowen Bao. His research regarding the sensory system continued in the Center for Integrative Neuroscience of the University of California at San Francisco as a research associate, studying the role of axon initial segment of auditory neurons in information processing and a cellular basis of perceptual learning with Dr Kevin J. Bender and Christoph E. Schreiner, respectively. Then, he joined the department of neuroscience at the City University of Hong Kong.

Research Interests

A fundamental question in neuroscience is on how a neuron processes innate and environmental cues in order to produce behaviorally relevant outputs. The several hypotheses how the inputs are stored, adapted, and learned have been proposed, yet their working models remain to be explored. For this, we study both the sensory system (for a mechanistic understanding of sensory learning) and hippocampus (for cellular mechanisms of memory) with modern techniques such as in vivo multichannel recording, two-photon imaging, in vivo whole-cell recording, and various behavior tasks. This research will be eventually applied to alleviate information processing disorders embedded in brain diseases.

Research Key Words

Brain Mapping; Synaptic Plasticity; Perceptual Learning; Psychiatry Disorders; Neural Implant; Neuro-nanomaterials

Lab Members

Sarah Yoonji KWON	PhD student	yjkwon3-c@my.cityu.edu.hk
Yvonne Ying Wai LAU	RA	yingwlau3-c@my.cityu.edu.hk
Zhen LIU	PhD student	zliu343@cityu.edu.hk
Rebecca So Jeong PAK	Postdoc	rebecpak2-c@my.cityu.edu.hk
Gwenny Hoi Kwan YU	RA	hoikwanyu3@cityu.edu.hk
Huilin ZHAO	PhD student	hlzhao6-c@my.cityu.edu.hk

Position Availability

We are looking for talented postgraduate students, research assistants, and postdocs. Interested candidates send your CV to sungchil.yang@cityu.edu.hk.

Selected Publication

(^# corresponding author)

• Yang S, Baeg E, Kim K, Kim D, Ahn JH, Yang S^# (2024) Neurodiagnostic and neurotherapeutic potential of graphene nanomaterials. Biosensors and Bioelectronics (Mar 01) 247:115906. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115906
• Pak S, Lee M, Lee S, Zhao H, Baeg E, Yang S, and Yang S^# (2023) Cortical surface plasticity promotes map remodeling and alleviates tinnitus in adult mice. Progress in Neurobiology (Nov 02) 102543. doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102543
• Zhao H, Yang S^#, Fung CCA^# (2023) Short-term postsynaptic plasticity facilitates predictive tracking in continuous attractors. Front. Comput. Neurosci (Nov 02) 17:1231924. doi: 10.3389/fncom.2023.1231924
• Kwon YJ^#, Kwon OI, Hwang HJ, Shin HC^#, and Yang S^# (2023) Therapeutic effects of phlorotannins in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Front. Mol. Neurosci (May 18) 16:1193590. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1193590
• Lim J, Lee S, Kim J, Hong J, Lim S, Kim K, Kim J, Yang S^#, Yang S^#, and Ahn JH^# (2023) Hybrid graphene electrode for diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy in free-moving animal models. NPG Asia Mater (Feb 17) 15(1):7 doi: 10.1038/s41427-023-00464-1
• Kwon YJ, Pak S, Yang S, and Yang S^# (2023) Electrophysiological measurements of synaptic connectivity and plasticity in the longitudinal dentate gyrus network from mouse hippocampal slices. STAR protoc (Jan 11) doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.102030
• Pak S, Jang D, Lee, J, Choi G, Shin H, Yang S^#, and Yang S^# (2022) Hippocampal interlamellar cell-cell connectome that counts. J Cell Physiol (Sep 05) doi: 10.1002/jcp.30868
• Pak S^#, Choi G, Roy J, Poon CH, Lee M, Lee J, Cho D, Lim LW, Bao S, Yang S, Yang S^# (2022) Noise-induced anxiety is presented in altered synaptic plasticity of the longitudinal dentate gyrus network. iScience (May 06) 25(6):104364. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104364
• Lee M, Lee S, Kim J, Lim J, Lee J, Masri S, Bao S, Yang S, Ahn JH, Yang S^# (2021) Graphene-electrode array for brain-map remodeling of cortical surface. NPG Asia Mater (Oct 01) 13, 65 doi: 10.1038/s41427-021-00334-8.
• Choi G, Kang H, Chu W, Yang S and Yang S^# (2021) Dynamics of longitudinal dentate gyrus axons associated with seizure. J Physiol (Mar 6) doi: 10.1113/JP281056.
• Miyakawa A, Wang W, Cho SJ, Li D, Yang S^#, Bao S^# (2019) Tinnitus correlates with downregulation of cortical glutamate decarboxylase 65 expression but not auditory cortical map reorganization. J Neuroci (Dec 11) 39(50):9989-10001 doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1117-19.2019
• Noh W, Pak S, Choi G, Yang S^# and Yang S^# (2019) Transient potassium channels: Therapeutic targets for brain disorders. Front. Cell. Neurosci (June 13) doi: 10.3389/fncel.2019.00265
• Wang W, Zhang L, Zinsmaier AK, Patterson G, Leptich EJ, Shoemaker SL, Yatskievych TA, Gibboni R, Pace E, Luo H, Zhang J, Yang S, Bao S^#. (2019) Neuroinflammation mediates noise-induced synaptic imbalance and tinnitus in rodent models. PLOS Biology (June 18) 17(6):e3000307 doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000307
• Park SW, Kim J, Kang M, Lee W, Park BS, Kim H, Choi SY, Yang S^# , Ahn JH^#, Yang S^# (2018) Epidural electrotherapy for epilepsy. Small (June 27) doi: 10.1002/smll.201801732
• Yang S, Chung J, Jin SH, Bao S^#, Yang S^# (2018) A circuit mechanism of time-to-space conversion for perception. Hearing Research (May 17) doi: 10.1016/j.heares.2018.05.008.
• Sun D, Kang H, Tetteh H, Su J, Lee J, Park S, He J, Jo J, Yang S^#, and Yang S^# (2018) Long term potentiation, but not depression, in interlamellar hippocampus CA1. Scientific Reports (Mar 26) doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23369-4
• Tetteh H, Lee M, Lau CG, Yang S, and Yang S^# (2018) Tinnitus: Prospects for pharmacological interventions with a seesaw model. The Neuroscientist (Aug) 24(4):353-367 doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1117-19.2019
• Yang S, Santos MD, Tang C, Kim JG, and Yang S^# (2016) A postsynaptic role for short-term neuronal facilitation in dendritic spines. Front. Cell. Neurosci. (Sep 30) 10:224 doi: 10.3389/fncel.2016.00224
• Yang S, Ben-shalom R, Ahn M, Liptak AT, van Rijn RM, Whistler JL and Bender KJ (2016) β-Arrestin-Dependent Dopaminergic Regulation of Calcium Channel Activity in the Axon Initial Segment. Cell Reports (Aug 9) 16:1-9 doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.06.098
• Yang S, Tang CM and Yang S (2015) The shaping of two distinct dendritic spikes by A-type voltage-gated K⁺ channels. Front. Cell. Neurosci. (Dec 09) 9:469 doi: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00469
• Yang S*, Yang S*, Moreira T, Hoffman G, Garlson GC, Bender KJ, Alger BE, and Tang CM (2014) Inter-lamellar CA1 network in the hippocampus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Sep 02) 111(35):12919-12924. *Equal contribution
• Yang S, Yang S, Park JS, Kirkwood A, and Bao S (2014) Impaired long-term potentiation in the developing auditory cortex of fmr1 knockout mice. PloS One (Aug 12) 9(8):e104691.
• Yang S, Zhang LS, Gibboni R, Weiner BD and Bao S (2014). Impaired development and competitive refinement of cortical frequency map in tumor necrosis factor-α deficient mice. Cerebral Cortex (Jul 01) 24(7):1956-65.
• Yang S^# and Bao S (2013). Homeostatic mechanism and treatment of tinnitus. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience (Mar 01) 31(2):99-108.
• Yang S, Su W, and Bao S (2012). Long-term, but not transient, hearing loss alters the morphology and increases the excitability of cortical pyramidal neurons. J Neurophysiol (Sep 15) 108:1567-1574.
• Yang S^#, Yang S, Cox CL, Llano DA, and Feng AS (2012). Cell’s intrinsic biophysical properties play a role in the systematic decrease in time-locking ability of central auditory neurons. Neuroscience (Apr 19) 208:49-57.
• Yang S, Weiner BD, Zhang LS, Cho SJ, and Bao S (2011). Homeostatic plasticity drives tinnitus perception in an animal model. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Sep 06) 108:14974-14979.
• Yang S^#, Lin WY, and Feng AS (2009). Wide-ranging frequency preferences of auditory midbrain neurons: Roles of membrane time constant and synaptic properties. Eur J Neurosci (Jul 01) 30:76-90.
• Yang S^# and Feng AS (2007). Heterogeneous biophysical properties of frog dorsal medullary nucleus (Cochlear Nucleus) neurons. J Neurophysiol (Oct 01) 98:1953-1964.
• Yang S, Lee DS, Chung CH, Cheong MY, Lee CJ, and Jung MW (2004). Long-term synaptic plasticity in deep layer-originated associational projections to superficial layers of rat entorhinal cortex. Neuroscience (Jul 27) 127(4):805-12.

28 December 2023