Staff Profile

Background

I studied Psychology to avoid Physics and Chemistry during my undergraduate at the University of Alberta. I was supervised by Alinda Friedman and worked as an RA in her lab for a year. Following that, I did a PhD on object recognition with Mike Tarr at Brown University in Providence, RI. I then took up a post-doc with Heinrich Bülthoff at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany. Finally, I took up a position at Newcastle University, focusing on the neural mechanisms of multi-sensory perception, and pain, object, face and people recognition.

Qualifications

BSc with Honours, Psychology
MSc, Cognitive Science
PhD, Cognitive Science

Previous Positions

Post-doctoral Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany

Memberships

Experimental Psychology Society, EPS

Research Interests

I am interested in how people combine spatial and temporal information from different senses (including seeing, hearing, touch and "pain") to carry out important everyday activities like recognising objects in the environment or avoiding painful events. I am particularly interested in the brain networks supporting these cognitive functions. To tackle some of the research questions that I am interested in, I use a variety of techniques from psychology and neuroscience. These include psychophysics, computer graphics, eye tracking, EEG and MRI.

Undergraduate Teaching

PSY2009 - Methods in Psychology
PSY3018 - The Damaged Brain: Case Studies in Neuropsychology
PSY3097 - Empirical Project

• Articles

  • Viola T, Vuong QC, Watson S, Porter RJ, Young AH, Gallagher P. Infraslow fluctuations of sustained attention in mood disorders. Psychological Medicine 2025, 55, e81.
  • Mugan D, Vuong QC, Dietz BE, Obara I. Characterization of preclinical models to investigate spinal cord stimulation for neuropathic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain Reports 2025, 10(1), e1228.
  • Domarchi C, Vuong QC, Cherchi E. The role of emotional coherence in electric vehicle purchasing decisions. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour 2024, 107, 997-1014.
  • Versantvoort EM, Dietz BE, Mugan D, Vuong QC, Luli S, Obara I. Evoked compound action potential (ECAP)-controlled closed-loop spinal cord stimulation in an experimental model of neuropathic pain in rats. Bioelectronic Medicine 2024, 10(1), 2.
  • Mason HT, Martinez-Cedillo AP, Vuong QC, Garcia-de-Soria MC, Smith S, Geangu E, Knight MI. A Complete Pipeline for Heart Rate Extraction from Infant ECGs. Signals 2024, 5(1), 118-146.
  • Maddison R, Nazar H, Obara I, Vuong QC. The efficacy of sensory neural entrainment on acute and chronic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Pain 2023, 17(2), 126-141.
  • Vuong QC, Geangu E. The development of emotion processing of body expressions from infancy to early childhood: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Cognition 2023, 2, 1155031.
  • Geangu E, Vuong QC. Seven-months-old infants show increased arousal to static emotion body expressions: Evidence from pupil dilation. Infancy 2023, 28(4), 820-835.
  • Atkinson AP, Vuong QC. Incidental visual processing of spatiotemporal cues in communicative interactions: An fMRI investigation. Imaging Neuroscience 2023, 1, 1-25.
  • Geangu E, Smith WAP, Mason HT, Martinez-Cedillo AP, Hunter D, Knight MI, Liang H, del Carmen Garcia de Soria Bazan M, Tse ZTH, Rowland T, Corpuz D, Hunter J, Singh N, Vuong QC, Abdelgayed MRS, Mullineaux DR, Smith S, Muller BR. EgoActive: Integrated Wireless Wearable Sensors for Capturing Infant Egocentric Auditory–Visual Statistics and Autonomic Nervous System Function 'in the Wild'. Sensors 2023, 23(18), 7930.
  • Hagen S, Vuong QC, Jung L, Chin MD, Scott LS, Tanaka JW. A perceptual field test in object experts using gaze-contingent eye tracking. Scientific Reports 2023, 13(1), 11437.
  • Ke H, Vuong QC, Geangu E. Three- and six-year-old children are sensitive to natural body expressions of emotion: An event-related potential emotional priming study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 2022, 244, 105497.
  • Allison JR, Chary K, Ottley C, Vuong QC, German MJ, Durham J, Thelwall P. The effect of magnetic resonance imaging on mercury release from dental amalgam at 3T and 7T. Journal of Dentistry 2022, 127, 104322.
  • Lad D, Wilkins A, Johnstone E, Vuong QC. Feeling the music: The feel and sound of songs attenuate pain. British Journal of Pain 2022, 16(5), 518-527.
  • Dietz BE, Mugan D, Vuong QC, Obara I. Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potentials in Spinal Cord Stimulation: Implications for Preclinical Research Models. Neuromodulation 2022, 25(1), 64-74.
  • Nguyen TTN, Vuong QC, Mather G, Thornton IM. Ensemble coding of crowd speed using biological motion. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics 2021, 83, 1014-1035.
  • Hagen S, Vuong QC, Chin MD, Scott LS, Curran T, Tanaka JW. Bird expertise does not increase motion sensitivity to bird flight motion. Journal of Vision 2021, 21(5), 1-11.
  • Geangu E, Vuong QC. Look up to the body. An eye-tracking investigation of 7-months-old infants’ visual exploration of emotional body expressions. Infant Behavior and Development 2020, 60, 101473.
  • Vuong QC, Shaaban AM, Black C, Smith J, Nassar M, Abozied A, Degenaar P, Al-Atabany W. Detection of simulated tactile gratings by electro-static friction show a dependency on bar width for blind and sighted observers, and preliminary neural correlates in sighted observers. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2020, 14, 548030.
  • Hou Z, Al-Atabany W, Farag R, Vuong QC, Mokhov A, Degenaar P. A scalable data transmission scheme for implantable optogenetic visual prostheses. Journal of Neural Engineering 2020, 17(5), 055001.
  • Gao X, Vuong QC, Rossion B. The cortical face network of the prosopagnosic patient PS with fast periodic stimulation in fMRI. Cortex 2019, 119, 528-542.
  • Deamer F, Palmer E, Vuong QC, Ferrier N, Finkelmeyer A, Hinzen W, Watson S. Non-literal understanding and psychosis: Metaphor comprehension in individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research: Cognition 2019, 18, 100159.
  • Vuong QC, Laing M, Prabhu A, Tung HI, Rees A. Modulated stimuli demonstrate asymmetric interactions between hearing and vision. Scientific Reports 2019, 9, 7605.
  • Kikuchi Y, Ip J, Lagier G, Mossom JC, Kumar S, Petkov CI, Barraclough NE, Vuong QC. Interactions between conscious and subconscious signals: Selective attention under feature-based competition increases neural selectivity during brain adaptation. The Journal of Neuroscience 2019, 39(28), 5506-5516.
  • Mayer KM, Thornton IM, Vuong QC. Comparable search efficiency for human and animal targets in the context of natural scenes. Attention, Perception and Psychophysics 2019, epub ahead of print.
  • Vuong QC, Allison JR, Finkelmeyer A, Newton J, Durham J. Brain Responses in CFS and TMD to Autonomic Challenges: An Exploratory fMRI Study. JDR Clinical & Translational Research 2019, 5(3), 224-232.
  • Lochy A, Zimmermann FGS, Laguesse R, Willenbockel V, Rossion B, Vuong QC. Does extensive training at individuating novel objects in adulthood lead to visual expertise? The role of facelikeness. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 2018, 30(4), 449-467.
  • Vuong QC, Owen A, Akin-Akinyosoye K, Araujo-Soares V. An incremental dual-task paradigm to investigate pain attenuation by task difficulty, affective content and threat value. PLoS One 2018, 13(11), e0207023.
  • Nankoo JF, Madan CR, Sawalha J, Wylie DR, Friedman A, Spetch ML, Vuong QC. The contribution of nonrigid motion and shape information to object perception in pigeons and humans. Journal of Vision 2017, 17(6), 1-12.
  • Mayer KM, Vuong QC, Thornton IM. Humans are Detected More Efficiently than Machines in the Context of Natural Scenes. Japanese Psychological Research 2017, 59(2), 178-187.
  • Hagen S, Vuong QC, Scott LS, Curran T, Tanaka JW. The Role of Spatial Frequency in Expert Object Recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 2016, 42(3), 413-422.
  • Vuong QC, Willenbockel V, Zimmermann FGS, Lochy A, Laguesse R, Dryden A, Rossion B. Facelikeness matters: A parametric multipart object set to understand the role of spatial configuration in visual recognition. Visual Cognition 2016, 24(7-8), 406-421.
  • Connolly JD, Vuong QC, Thiele A. Gaze-Dependent Topography in Human Posterior Parietal Cortex. Cerebral Cortex 2015, 25(6), 1519-1526.
  • Mayer KM, Vuong QC, Thornton IM. Do People "Pop Out"?. PLoS ONE 2015, 10(10), e0139618.
  • Laing M, Rees A, Vuong QC. Amplitude-modulated stimuli reveal auditory-visual interactions in brain activity and brain connectivity. Frontiers in Psychology 2015, 6, 1440.
  • Hagen S, Vuong QC, Scott LS, Curran T, Tanaka JW. The role of color in expert object recognition. Journal of Vision 2014, 14(9), 1-13.
  • Mayer KM, Vuong QC. TBSS and probabilistic tractography reveal white matter connections for attention to object features. Brain Structure and Function 2014, 219(6), 2159-2171.
  • Dobs K, Bulthoff I, Breidt M, Vuong QC, Curio C, Schultz J. Quantifying human sensitivity to spatio-temporal information in dynamic faces. Vision Research 2014, 100, 78-87.
  • Michel C, Rossion B, Bulthoff I, Hayward WG, Vuong QC. The contribution of shape and surface information in the other-race face effect. Visual Cognition 2013, 21(9-10), 1202-1223.
  • Petkov CI, Vuong QC. Neuronal Coding: The Value in Having an Average Voice. Current Biology 2013, 23(12), R521-R523.
  • Friedman A, Ludvig EA, Legge EL, Vuong QC. Bayesian combination of two-dimensional location estimates. Behavior Research Methods 2013, 45(1), 98-107.
  • Mayer KM, Vuong QC. Automatic processing of unattended object features by functional connectivity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013, 7, 193.
  • Taylor JP, Firbank MJ, He JB, Barnett N, Pearce S, Livingstone A, Vuong Q, McKeith IG, O'Brien JT. Visual cortex in dementia with Lewy bodies: magnetic resonance imaging study. British Journal of Psychiatry 2012, 200(6), 491-498.
  • Vuong QC, Friedman A, Read JCA. The relative weight of shape and non-rigid motion cues in object perception: A model of the parameters underlying dynamic object discrimination. Journal of Vision 2012, 12(3), 16.
  • Mayer KM, Vuong QC. The influence of unattended features on object processing depends on task demand. Vision Research 2012, 56(1), 20-27.
  • Atkinson AP, Vuong QC, Smithson HE. Modulation of the face- and body-selective visual regions by the motion and emotion of point-light face and body stimuli. NeuroImage 2012, 59(2), 1700-1712.
  • Chuang LL, Vuong QC, Bulthoff HH. Learned non-rigid motion is a view-invariant cue to recognizing novel objects. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience 2012, 6, 26.
  • Thoresen JC, Vuong QC, Atkinson AP. First impressions: Gait cues drive reliable trait judgements. Cognition 2012, 124(3), 261-171.
  • Tovée MJ, Edmonds L, Vuong QC. Categorical perception of human female physical attractiveness and health. Evolution and Human Behavior 2012, 33(2), 85-93.
  • Pilz KS, Vuong QC, Bulthoff HH, Thornton IM. Walk this way: Approaching bodies can influence the processing of faces. Cognition 2011, 118(1), 17-31.
  • Pilz KS, Konar Y, Vuong QC, Bennett PJ, Sekuler AB. Age-related changes in matching novel objects across viewpoints. Vision Research 2011, 51(17), 1958-1965.
  • Friedman A, Vuong QC, Spetch M. Facilitation by view combination and coherent motion in dynamic object recognition. Vision Research 2010, 50(2), 202-210.
  • Friedman A, Vuong QC, Spetch ML. View combination in moving objects: The role of motion in discriminating between novel views of similar and distinctive objects by humans and pigeons. Vision Research 2009, 49(6), 594-607.
  • Vuong QC, Friedman A, Plante C. Modulation of viewpoint effects in object recognition by shape and motion cues. Perception 2009, 38(11), 1628-1648.
  • Pilz KS, Bulthoff HH, Vuong QC. Learning influences the encoding of static and dynamic faces and their recognition across different spatial frequencies. Visual Cognition 2009, 17(5), 716-735.
  • Vuong QC. Visual categorization: When categories fall to pieces. Current Biology 2008, 18(10), R427-R429.
  • Sarkheil P, Vuong QC, Bülthoff HH, Noppeney U. The integration of higher order form and motion by the human brain. NeuroImage 2008, 42(4), 1529-1536.
  • Ashworth ARS, Vuong QC, Rossion B, Tarr MJ. Recognizing rotated faces and Greebles: What properties drive the face inversion effect?. Visual Cognition 2008, 16(6), 754-784.
  • Dyer AG, Vuong QC. Insect Brains Use Image Interpolation Mechanisms to Recognise Rotated Objects. PLoS One 2008, 3(12), e4086.
  • Schultz J, Chuang L, Vuong QC. A Dynamic Object-Processing Network: Metric Shape Discrimination of Dynamic Objects by Activation of Occipitotemporal, Parietal, and Frontal Cortices. Cerebral Cortex 2008, 18(6), 1302-1313.
  • Vuong QC, Tarr MJ. Structural similarity and spatiotemporal noise effects on learning dynamic novel objects. Perception 2006, 35(4), 497-510.
  • Brouwer A-M, Vuong QC, Kanai R. Planning and online control of goal directed movements when the eyes are ‘relocated’. Experimental Brain Research 2006, 175(3), 499-513.
  • Spetch ML, Friedman A, Vuong QC. Dynamic object recognition in pigeons and humans. Learning and Behavior 2006, 34(3), 215-228.
  • Vuong QC, Domini F, Caudek C. Disparity and shading cues cooperate for surface interpolation. Perception 2006, 35(2), 145-155.
  • Vuong QC, Hof AF, Bülthoff HH, Thornton IM. An advantage for detecting dynamic targets in natural scenes. Journal of Vision 2006, 6(1), 87-96.
  • Bennett DJ, Vuong QC. A stereo advantage in generalizing over changes in viewpoint on object recognition tasks. Perception and Psychophysics 2006, 68(7), 1082-1093.
  • Vuong QC, Peissig JJ, Harrison MC, Tarr MJ. The role of surface pigmentation for recognition revealed by contrast reversal in faces and Greebles. Vision Research 2005, 45(10), 1213-1223.
  • Goffaux V, Hault B, Michel C, Vuong QC, Rossion B. The respective role of low and high spatial frequencies in supporting configural and featural processing of faces. Perception 2005, 34(1), 77-86.
  • Vuong QC, Tarr MJ. Rotation direction affects object recognition. Vision Research 2004, 44(14), 1717-1730.
  • Thornton IM, Vuong QC. Incidental Processing of Biological Motion. Current Biology 2004, 14(12), 1084-1089.
  • Vuong QC, Domini F, Caudek C. Evidence for patchwork approximation of shape primitives. Perception and Psychophysics 2004, 66(7), 1246-1259.
  • Thornton IM, Vuong QC, Bülthoff HH. A chimeric point-light walker. Perception 2003, 32(3), 377-383.
  • Domini F, Vuong QC, Caudek C. Temporal integration in structure from motion. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 2002, 28(4), 816-838.

• Book Chapters

  • Vuong QC. Object perception. In: Goldstein, EB, ed. Encyclopedia of Perception. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2010, pp.643-648.
  • Castrillón-Santana M, Vuong QC. An analysis of automatic gender classification. In: L. Rueda, D. Mery, & J. Kittler, ed. Progress in Pattern Recognition, Image Analysis and Applications. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Verlag, 2007, pp.271-280.
  • Castrillón-Santana M, Vuong QC. Combining human perception and geometric restrictions for automatic pedestrian detection. In: Marín, R; Onaindía, E; Bugarín, A; Santos, J, ed. Current Topics in Artificial Intelligence. Santiago de Compostela, Spain: Springer Verlag, 2006, pp.163-170.
  • Tarr MJ, Vuong QC. Visual object recognition. In: Pashler, H., Yantis, S, ed. Steven's Handbook of Experimental Psychology, Vol 1: Sensation and Perception. New York, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2002, pp.287-314.
  • Tarr MJ, Vuong QC. Neural representations of objects. In: Smelser, NJ; Baltes, PB, ed. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. United Kingdom: Elsevier, 2001, pp.10563-10567.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Vuong QC, Parikh JD, Laing M, Blamire AM, Rees A. Visual modulation of auditory discrimination correlates with GABA in parietal multisensory area. In: Organisation of Human Brain Mapping OHBM 2016 Annual General Meeting. 2016, Geneva: Organization for Human Brain Mapping.
  • Vuong QC, Kikuchi Y, Ip J, Mossom JC, Barraclough N, Petkov CI. Attentional modulation of responses in human face- and voice-sensitive cortex. In: Scottish Vision Group. 2016, Carnoustie, Scotland: Sage Publications Ltd.
  • Lochy A, Renaud L, Zimmermann FG, Willenbockel V, Rossion B, Vuong QC. The crucial role of facelike configuration in the development of visual expertise: objective electrophysiological evidence. In: 38th European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP). 2015, Liverpool: Sage Publications Ltd.
  • Zimmermann FGS, Lochy A, Laguesse R, Willenbockel V, Rossion B, Vuong QC. Facelikeness mediates individual-level discrimination for novel objects: Evidence from extensive training. In: 38th European Conference on Visual Perception (EVCP) 2015. 2015, Liverpool, UK: Sage.
  • Curio C, Breidt M, Kleiner M, Vuong QC, Giese M, Bülthoff HH. Semantic 3D motion retargeting for facial animation. In: Proceedings of the 3rd Symposium on Applied Perception in Graphics and Visualization. 2006, Boston, Massachusetts, USA: ACM Press.