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An-Li Wang

Senior Researcher, ACI

An-Li Wang received her doctoral degree in Neuroscience from Oxford University. By manipulating the preceding events (e.g. variable vs. constant stimulus-interval, hetero vs. homo modality) of the eliciting stimuli, her thesis investigated the functional significance of event-related potentials (ERPs) in healthy human subjects, which would facilitate the standardization of the clinical use of laser-evoked potentials in objective pain evaluation. Under the mentorship of Dr. Daniel Romer and Dr. Daniel Langleben, she has established and is leading the Neurophysiology of Communication Laboratory at the Annenberg Public Policy Center in order to apply neuroscience techniques to public health communications research. The laboratory uses state-of-the-art neuroimaging methods, such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERPs), to advance the understanding of the mechanisms of persuasion in public health communications and to improve the efficacy of such messages. Specific health communication modalities currently being investigated include televised public service announcements (PSAs) aimed at primary and secondary prevention of cigarette smoking, as well as primary prevention of HIV (safe sex), and graphic warning labels on cigarette packages.

Selected Publications:

  • Wang A.L., Elman I., Lowen B.S., Blady J.S., Lynch G.K., O’Brien P.C. and Langleben D.D. Neuroimaging predictors of adherence to extended release naltrexone therapy in patients with heroin dependence. In press.
  • Wang A.L., Lowen B.S., Romer D., Jagannathan K., Langleben, D.D. Emotional reaction facilitates the brain and behavioral impact of graphic cigarette warning labels in smokers. Tobacco Control, 2015 Jan 6. pii: tobaccocontrol-2014-051993. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-051993.
  • Seelig D., Wang A.L., Romer D., Jagannathan K., Loughead J.W., Childress, A.R., Langleben, D.D. Low message sensation health promotion videos are better remembered and activate areas of the brain associated with memory encoding. PLoS ONE, 19;9(11):e113256. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113256 (2014)
  • Romer D., Jamieson P., Bushman B., Bleakley A., Wang A.L., Langleben D.D., Jamieson K. Parental Desensitization to Violence and Sex in Movies. Pediatrics, 134(5):877-84. doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-1167 (2014)
  • Wang A.L., Romer D., Elman I., Turetsky B.I., Gur R.C., Langleben D.D. (2013). Emotional graphic cigarette warning labels reduce the electrophysiological brain response to smoking cues, Addiction Biology, doi: 10.1111/adb.12117. PubMed PMID: 24330194.
  • Wang, A. L., Loughead, J. W., Strasser, A. A., Ruparel, K., Romer, D. R., Blady, S.J.,…Langleben, D. D.(2012). Content matters: Neuroimaging investigation of brain and behavioral impact of televised anti-tobacco public service announcements. Journal of Neuroscience, 33(17), 7420-7427.
  • Wang, A. L., Mouraux, A., Liang, M., & Iannetti, G. D. (2010). Stimulus novelty and not refractoriness explains the repetition suppression of laser-evoked potentials (LEPs). Journal of Neurophysiology, 104(4), 2116-2124.
  • Wang, A. L., Mouraux, A., Liang, M., & Iannetti, G. D. (2008). The enhancement of the N1 wave elicited by sensory stimuli presented at very short inter-stimulus intervals is a general feature across sensory systems. PLoS ONE, 3(12), e3929. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003929

Contact Information:

Phone: (215) 898-7020Email: awang (at) asc.upenn.edu

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