Zhichao Xia
Assistant Research Professor
Psychological Sciences
Education
Ph.D., 2017, Beijing Normal University
Research Interests
Dr. Xia’s primary research interest is understanding the neural mechanisms underlying individual differences in reading and language processes through experimental design and neuroimaging. The ultimate goal of his work is to use this knowledge to support language and literacy development in children with reading difficulties, such as developmental dyslexia, as well as in typically developing children. Dr. Xia has broad training in psychology, with specific expertise in experimental design, statistics, and neuroimaging. In his research, he uses multimodal MRI methods, including task-based and resting-state fMRI and structural MRI, as well as neuromodulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation. He also applies multiple analytical approaches, including machine learning, to investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying reading, speech perception, audiovisual integration, and related processes in typical and atypical populations. As a PI or co-investigator on several grants, Dr. Xia has led or supported research across multiple related areas, including reading and dyslexia, second language acquisition, and cortical plasticity driven by specific experiences, such as musical training, or sensory differences, such as blindness. This work has resulted in several peer-reviewed publications. He has also collaborated with researchers from multiple institutions, including Georgia State University, Yale University, the University of Michigan, UCSF, and UConn.
Publications
Zhang, X., Wang, M., Shu, H., & Xia, Z. (corresponding author) (2025). Brain Structural Connectivity and Morphological Awareness Mediate the Association Between Home Literacy Environment and Reading Outcomes in Children with Family History of Reading Difficulties. Dev Sci, 28(5), e70056.
Pang, W., Xia, Z., Zhang, L., Shu, H., Zhang, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2024). Stimulus‐responsive and task‐dependent activations in occipital regions during pitch perception by early blind listeners. Human Brain Mapping, 45(2), e26583.
Zhang, L., Xia, Z., Zhao, Y., Shu, H., & Zhang, Y. (2023). Recent Advances in Chinese Developmental Dyslexia. Annual Review of Linguistics, 9(1), 439-461.
Zou, L., Xia, Z. (corresponding author), Zhang, W., Zhang, X., & Shu, H. (2022). Brain responses during auditory word recognition vary with reading ability in Chinese school-age children. Dev Sci, 25(3), e13216.
Zhou, W., Xia, Z. (co-first author), Georgiou, G., & Shu, H. (2022). Shared and unique functional connectivity underpinning rapid naming and character reading in Chinese. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 62, 101052.
Xia, Z., Yang, T., Cui, X., Hoeft, F., Liu, H., Zhang, X., . . . Liu, X. (2022). Neurofunctional basis underlying audiovisual integration of print and speech sound in Chinese children. European Journal of Neuroscience, 55(3), 806-826.
Xia, Z., Yang, T., Cui, X., Hoeft, F., Liu, H., Zhang, X., . . . Shu, H. (2021). Atypical Relationships Between Neurofunctional Features of Print-Sound Integration and Reading Abilities in Chinese Children with Dyslexia. Front Psychol, 12, 748644.
Xia, Z., Wang, C., Hancock, R., Vandermosten, M., & Hoeft, F. (2021). Development of thalamus mediates paternal age effect on offspring reading: A preliminary investigation. Human Brain Mapping, 42(14), 4580-4596.
Cui, X., Xia, Z. (co-first author), Pan, J., McBride, C., Shu, H., (2020). Shared neural substrates underlying reading and visual matching: A longitudinal investigation. Front Hum Neurosci, 14(445).
Zou, L., Packard, J. L., Xia, Z., Liu, Y., & Shu, H. (2019). Morphological and Whole-Word Semantic Processing Are Distinct: Event Related Potentials Evidence from Spoken Word Recognition in Chinese. Front Hum Neurosci, 13(133).
Lu, X., Li, T., Xia, Z., Zhu, R., Wang, L., Luo, Y.-J., . . . Krueger, F. (2018). Connectome-based model predicts individual differences in propensity to trust. Human Brain Mapping, 40, 1942-1954.
Zhou, W., Xia, Z., Georgiou, G. K., & Shu, H. (2018). The Distinct Roles of Dorsal and Ventral Visual Systems in Naming of Chinese Characters. Neuroscience, 390, 256- 264.
Xia, Z., Zhang, L., Hoeft, F., Gu, B., Gong, G., & Shu, H. (2018). Neural correlates of oral word reading, silent reading comprehension, and cognitive subcomponents. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 42(3), 342–356.
Li, Y., Zhang, L., Xia, Z., Yang, J., Shu, H., & Li, P. (2017). The Relationship between Intrinsic Couplings of the Visual Word Form Area with Spoken Language Network and Reading Ability in Children and Adults. Front Hum Neurosci, 11.
Black, J. M., Xia, Z. (co-first author), & Hoeft, F. (2017). Neurobiological bases of reading disorder part II: The importance of developmental considerations in typical and atypical reading. Language and Linguistics Compass, 11(10), e12252.
Xia, Z., Hancock, R., Hoeft, F. (2017). Neurobiological bases of reading disorder Part I: Etiological investigations. Language and Linguistics Compass, 11(4), e12239.
Zhou, W., Wang, X., Xia, Z., Bi, Y., Li, P., & Shu, H. (2016). Neural Mechanisms of Dorsal and Ventral Visual Regions during Text Reading. Front Psychol, 7(1399).
Xia, Z., Hoeft, F., Zhang, L., & Shu, H. (2016). Neuroanatomical anomalies of dyslexia: Disambiguating the effects of disorder, performance, and maturation. Neuropsychologia, 81, 68-78.
Cui, Z., Xia, Z. (co-first author), Su, M., Shu, H., & Gong, G. (2016). Disrupted white matter connectivity underlying developmental dyslexia: A machine learning approach. Human Brain Mapping, 37(4), 1443-1458.
Zou, L., Packard, J. L., Xia, Z., Liu, Y., & Shu, H. (2015). Neural Correlates of Morphological Processing: Evidence from Chinese. Front Hum Neurosci, 9.
Zhou, W., Xia, Z., Bi, Y., & Shu, H. (2015). Altered connectivity of the dorsal and ventral visual regions in dyslexic children: a resting-state fMRI study. Front Hum Neurosci, 9, 495.
Wang, J., Wang, P., Xia, Z., Liu, J., Quan, W., Tian, J., . . . Dong, W. (2015). Lexical and sub-lexical reading skills and their correlation to clinical symptoms in young Chinese patients with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 230(3), 919-923.
Xia, Z., Hong, T., Zhang, L., & Shu, H., (2014). Application of Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) in Speech Perception Research. Advances in Psychological Science, 22(1), 14-26.
Zou, L., Desroches, A. S., Liu, Y., Xia, Z., & Shu, H. (2012). Orthographic facilitation in Chinese spoken word recognition: An ERP study. Brain Lang, 123(3), 164-173.
