1997 - 2002 University of Science and Technology of China, B.S. in Biological Sciences, B.E. in Computer Science and Technology

2004 - 2007 Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ph.D. in Zoology

2007 - 2012 National Institute of Mental Health, Postdoctoral Fellow

2012 - 2016 National Institute of Mental Health, Research Fellow

2016.08 - Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Principal Investigator

Social cognition is essential for both individual and group survival, especially in socialanimals like humans and non-human primates. In a variety of psychiatric disorders, disruptedsocial cognition represents a common sensitive domain of their pathology. Although socialcognition has been studied for a long time, its brain underpinning remains elusive. Our long-termresearch goal is to understand the neural mechanisms underlying social cognitions, and develop new diagnostictools and treatment strategies for psychiatric diseases. Given the similarities in social cognition and its underlying neural circuitry between humans andnon-human primates, weuse non-human primates (e.g., rhesus macaque) as the model.Sophisticated non-invasive and invasive experimental approaches, including neuroimaging (e.g.,fMRI), interventional physiology (e.g., permanent/reversible lesion of brain circuits,microstimulation) and computational modeling, will be applied jointly toinvestigate these issues at various scales and levels.

(* Corresponding Author, ^# First Author）

1. Wan Y^#, Xin Y, Ruan J, Ma C, Li T*, Liu N*. (2026, Nov 10). Structure-Function Decoupling of the Default Mode Network in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Psychiatry Research, e117585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2026.117585

2. Ruan J^#, Ma C, Qiao Y, Dong X, Qiu M, Klar P, Wang J, Fan L, Northoff G, Liu N*. (2026, Oct 7). Evolutionary reorganization of the self-processing network across primates. J Neurosci, 46(40):e0439262026. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0439-26.2026

3. Huang H-D^#, Ji Y-C, Zhang L, Xu M, Qiao Y, Li C-Y, Xie H-H, Li Y, Zhang B-L, Qiu M-H, Zhang Y-L, Yu X-M, Zhang Y-B, Wang Y, Wang Q, Li YJ, Lv L-B, Huang X-X, Mao B-Y, Wu D-D, Zheng P*, Liu N*, Wang J-H*, Yao Y-G*. (2026, Sep 7). Longitudinal characterization of giant ANK2-depleted monkeys suggests neurodevelopmental disorder-like phenotypes. Research (Wash D C), 9:1424. https://doi.org/10.34133/research.1424

4. Ge Q^#, Xin Y^#, He C, Han S, Geng X, Chen X, Yu S, He J*, Liu N*, Xu L*. (2026, Jul 20). Brain criticality characterizes abnormal neural dynamics and metabolism in disorder of consciousness. Commun Biol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10713-y

5. Xiang S^#, Zou X, Luo C, Liu N*. (2026, Jul 16). Temporal dynamics of frontoparietal processing during personal space intrusion. iScience, 29(8):116829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.116829

6. Liu L^#, Zheng Z^#, You W^#, Yang P^#, Wen Y^#, Qiao Y^#, Ma S^#, Zhang H^#, Zhang S^#, Xu G^#, Ma C^#, Tian A, Jiang M, Zhang T, Geng L, Li J, Sun X, Wang F, Xiong M, Yang Y, Lu X, Jiang X, Dong X, Zhang Z, Huang Y, Zhang B, Qiao Q, Sun S, Fan Y, Cai Y, Yan K, Zhang Y, Jing Y, Jing Y, Wang Q, Lei J, Tan A, Han Z, Reddy P, Haghani A, Rodriguez Esteban C, Zhang F, Liu Z, Liu N, Wang S, Horvath S, Yang J, Izpisua Belmonte JC, Zhang W*, Qu J*, Liu G-H*. (2026, Apr 7). Vitamin C inhibits ACSL4 to alleviate ferro-aging in primates. Cell Metab, 38(4):673-693.e17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2026.02.010

7. Zhang Z^#, Dong X^#, Zou X, Liu N*. (2025, Oct). Hierarchical relationship between neural mechanisms of ensemble and individual perception revealed through perceptual learning. J Exp Psychol Gen, 154(10):2914-2925. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001832

8. Zhang B^#, Chen Y^#, Zhang Y^#, Qiao Y, Wu Y, Zhang Y, Lu Y, You X, Li Y, Huang H, Wang Q, Li Y, Wang Y, Xiao W, Duan H, Qiu M, Chen N, Yu X, Yang M, Lv L, Cooper DN, Zheng P, Yao Y*, Liu N*, Wang J*, Wu D*. (2025, Sep 30). Forward and reverse genomic screens enhance the understanding of phenotypic variation in a large Chinese rhesus macaque cohort. Nat Commun, 16(1):8703. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63747-x

9. Lei J^#, Xin Z^#, Liu N^#, Ning T^#, Jing Y^#, Qiao Y^#, He Z, Jiang M, Yang Y, Zhang Z, Zhao L, Li J, Lv D, Yan Y, Zhang H, Xiao L, Zhang B, Huang H, Sun S, Zheng F, Jiang X, Lu H, Dong X, Yue S, Ma C, Shuai J, Ji Z, Liu F, Ye Y, Yan K, Hu Q, Xu G, Zhao Q, Wu R, Cai Y, Fan Y, Jing Y, Wang Q, Reddy P, Lu X, Zheng Z, Liu B, Haghani A, Ma S, Suzuki K, Esteban CR, Yang J, Song M, Horvath S, Zhang W, Li W, Xiang AP, Zhu L, Fu X, Zhao G, Belmonte JCI, Qu J*, Wang S*, Liu G-H*. (2025, Sep 4). Senescence-resistant human mesenchymal progenitor cells counter aging in primates. Cell, 188(18):5039-5061.e35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.05.021

10. Zhang Y^#, Qiao Y^#, Ji Y^#, Huang H^#, Zhang L, Ruan J, Li C, Xie H, Zhang B, Zhou Q, Yue S, Yu X, Qiu M, Yu C, Wu S, Zhou Y, Li Y, Zhu H, Dong S, Huang K, Wang Y, Wang Q, Li Y, Xie Y, Chen H, Lv L, Liu S, Yao Y, Wang C*, Liu N*, Wang J*. (2025, Jul 31). A Study of Spontaneous Self-Injurious Behavior and Neuroimaging in Rhesus Macaques. Research (Wash D C), 8:0782. https://doi.org/10.34133/research.0782

11. Xin Y^#, Cui Y^#, Yu S, Liu N*. (2025, Jun 23). Genetic contributions to brain criticality and its relationship with human cognitive functions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 122 (26):e2417010122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2417010122

12. Cheng Y^#, Xin Y^#, Lu X, Yang T, Ma X, Yuan X*, Liu N*, Jiang Y*. (2025, May). Shared and unique neural codes for biological motion perception in humans and macaque monkeys. Advanced Science, 12(18):e2411562. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202411562

13. Ruan J^#, Yuan Y, Qiao Y, Qiu M, Dong X, Cui Y, Wang J, Liu N*. (2025, Jan 17). Connectional differences between humans and macaques in the MT+ complex. iScience, 28(1):111617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111617

14. Liu N^#*, Avidan G, Turchi JN, Hadj-Bouziane F, Behrmann M. (2024, Dec 1). A possible neural basis for attentional capture of faces revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging and causal pharmacological inactivation in macaques. J Cogn Neurosci, 36(12):2761-2779. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_02211

15. Lu X^#, Hu Z^#, Xin Y^#, Yang T, Wang Y, Zhang P, Liu N*, Jiang Y*. (2024, Nov 7). Detecting biological motion signals in human and monkey superior colliculus: a subcortical-cortical pathway for biological motion perception. Nat Commun, 15(1):9606. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53968-x

16. Yang Y^#, Lu X^#, Liu N^#, Ma S^#, Zhang H^#, Zhang Z^#, Yang K, Jiang M, Zheng Z, Qiao Y, Hu Q, Huang Y, Zhang Y, Xiong M, Liu L, Jiang X, Reddy P, Dong X, Xu F, Wang Q, Zhao Q, Lei J, Sun S, Jing Y, Li J, Cai Y, Fan Y, Yan K, Jing Y, Haghani A, Xing M, Zhang X, Zhu G, Song W, Horvath S, Rodriguez Esteban C, Song M, Wang S, Zhao G, Li W, Izpisua Belmonte JC, Qu J*, Zhang W*, Liu G-H*. (2024, Oct 31). Metformin decelerates aging clock in male monkeys. Cell, 187(22):6358-6378.e29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.08.021

17. Zhao M^#, Xin Y, Deng H, Zuo Z, Wang X*, Bi Y*, Liu N*. (2024, Oct 28). Object color knowledge representation occurs in the macaque brain despite the absence of a developed language system. PLoS Biol, 22(10):e3002863. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002863

18. Zhao M^#, Li R, Xiang S, Liu N*. (2024, Oct 15). Two different mirror neuron pathways for social and non-social actions? A meta-analysis of fMRI studies. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, 19(1):nsae068. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsae068

19. Zhang Z, Dong X, Liu Z, Liu N*. (2024, Jun 21). Social status predicts physiological and behavioral responses to chronic stress in rhesus monkeys. iScience, 27(6):110073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110073

20. Zhang Q, Zhang Y, Liu N*, Sun X*. (2024, Apr 9). Understanding of facial features in face perception: insights from deep convolutional neural networks. Front Comput Neurosci, 18:1209082. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncom.2024.1209082

21. Wu Y^#, Zhao M^#, Deng H, Wang T, Xin Y, Dai W, Huang J, Zhou T, Sun X, Liu N*, Xing D*. (2024, Jan 15). The neural origin for asymmetric coding of surface color in the primate visual cortex. Nat Commun, 15(1):516. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44809-y

22. Sun F, Yang T, Liu N*, Wan X*. (2023, Oct 13). The causal role of temporoparietal junction in mediating self-other mergence during mentalizing. J Neurosci, 43(49):8442-8455. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1026-23.2023

23. Xiang S^#, Zhao M^#, Yu L, Liu N*. (2023, Aug 11). A common self-advantage across the implicit and explicit levels for self-body recognition. Front Psychol, 14:1099151. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1099151

24. Zhang H^#*, Ding X, Liu N, Nolan R, Ungerleider LG, Japee S. (2023, Jun). Equivalent processing of facial expression and identity by macaque visual system and task-optimized neural network. Neuroimage, 273:120067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120067

25. Cui S^#, Yang T, Liu N*. (2023, Jun 15). Generalization of the modulatory effect of social interaction on personal space. Front Psychol, 14:1148395. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1148395

26. Shen B^#, Zhang Z, Wang Q, Tu Z*, Liu N*. (2023, May 25) A new approach to detecting and analyzing monkey activities using the improved YOLOv5. Third International Conference on Machine Learning and Computer Application (ICMLCA 2022).

27.Liu N^#*, Behrmann M, Turchi JN, Avidan G, Hadj-Bouziane F, Ungerleider LG. (2022, Nov 9). Bidirectional and parallel relationships in macaque face circuit revealed by fMRI and causal pharmacological inactivation. Nat Commun, 13(1):6787. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34451-x

28. Cheng Z^#, Liu N*, Fan Y*, Zuo P, Yuan H, Xu Z. (2022, Apr 25). Representations of object animacy and real-world size in the ventral visual pathway. Acta Physiologica Sinica, 74(2):294-300. https://doi.org/10.13294/j.aps.2022.0028

29. Xin Y^#, Bai T^#, Zhang T, Chen Y, Wang K, Yu S*, Liu N*, Tian Y*. (2022, Jan-Feb). Electroconvulsive therapy modulates critical brain dynamics in major depressive disorder patients. Brain Stimul, 15(1):214-225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2021.12.008

30. Li N^#, Liu N*. (2021, Jul 14). The nonlinear and gender-related relationships of face attractiveness and typicality with perceived trustworthiness. Front Psychol, 12:656084. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.656084

31. Taubert J^#*, Flessert M, Liu N, Ungerleider LG. (2019, Oct 23). Intranasal oxytocin selectively modulates the behavior of rhesus monkeys in an expression matching task. Sci Rep, 9(1):15187. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51422-3

32. Meng Q^#*, Wang B, Cui D, Liu N, Huang Y*, Chen L, Ma Y. (2019, Jan 2). Age-related changes in local and global visual perception. J Vis, 19(1):10. https://doi.org/10.1167/19.1.10

33. Tomeo OB^#, Ungerleider LG, Liu N*. (2017, Jul 11). Preference for averageness in faces does not generalize to non-human primates. Front Behav Neurosci, 11:129. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00129

Before joining IBP:

34. Zhang H^#*, Japee S, Nolan R, Chu C, Liu N, Ungerleider LG. (2016, Apr 15). Face-selective regions differ in their ability to classify facial expressions. Neuroimage, 130:77-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.01.045

35. Liu N^#, Hadj-Bouziane F, Moran, R, Ungerleider LG, Ishai A*. (2017, Feb 1). Facial Expressions Evoke Differential Neural Coupling in Macaques. Cereb Cortex, 27(2):1524-1531. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhv345

36. Liu N^#*, Hadj-Bouziane F, Jones, KB, Turchi JN, Averbeck BB, Ungerleider LG*. (2015, Jun 16). Oxytocin modulates fMRI responses to facial expression in macaques. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 112(24):E3123-3130. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1508097112

37. Avidan G^#*, Tanzer M, Hadj-Bouziane F, Liu N, Ungerleider LG, Behrmann M. (2014, Jun). Selective dissociation between core and extended regions of the face processing network in congenital prosopagnosia. Cereb Cortex, 24(6):1565-1578. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bht007

38. Liu N^#*, Kriegeskorte N, Mur M, Hadj-Bouziane F, Luh WM, Tootell RB, Ungerleider LG. (2013, Jul 10). Intrinsic structure of visual exemplar and category representations in macaque brain. J Neurosci, 33(28):11346-11360. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4180-12.2013

39. Hadj-Bouziane F^#*, Liu N, Bell AH, Gothard KM, Luh WM, Tootell RB, Murray EA, Ungerleider LG*. (2012, Dec 26). Amygdala lesions disrupt modulation of functional MRI activity evoked by facial expression in the monkey inferior temporal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 109(52):E3640-3648. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1218406109

40. Furl N^#*, Hadj-Bouziane F^#, Liu N, Averbeck BB, Ungerleider LG. (2012, Nov 7). Dynamic and static facial expressions decoded from motion-sensitive areas in the macaque monkey. J Neurosci, 32(45):15952-15962. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1992-12.2012

41. Talbot T^#*, Ide D, Liu N, Turchi J. (2012, Jan 20). A novel, variable angle guide grid for neuronal activity studies. Front Integr Neurosci, 6:1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2012.00001

42. Nasr S^#*, Liu N, Devaney KJ, Yue X, Rajimehr R, Ungerleider LG, Tootell RB. (2011, Sep 28). Scene-selective cortical regions in human and nonhuman primates. J Neurosci, 31(39):13771-13785. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2792-11.2011

43. Wu CW^#*, Vasalatiy O, Liu N, Wu H, Cheal S, Chen DY, Koretsky AP, Griffiths GL, Tootell RB, Ungerleider LG. (2011, Apr 28). Development of a MR-visible compound for tracing neuroanatomical connections in vivo. Neuron, 70(2):229-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2011.03.010

(From Ning Liu, November 11, 2026)