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Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology

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2005

Ph.D., Psychology
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

2002

1994

B.S., Psychology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Research Interests

My research focuses on the neurobiological basis of human learning and memory. My graduate work used fMRI and Pavlovian fear conditioning to investigate brain regions important for the processing of fearful stimuli versus regions important for fear expression. This work has led me to my current position, in which I use fMRI, TMS, and classical eyeblink conditioning as a model system to examine the role of awareness on conditional responses.

Current Projects

I am currently studying cerebellar functioning as it relates to delay and trace eyeblink conditioning using TMS and fMRI in human participants.

Cheng, D. T., Disterhoft, J. F., Power, J. M., Ellis, D. A., & Desmond, J. E. (2008). Neural substrates underlying human delay and trace eyeblink conditioning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A, 105(23), 8108-8113.

Cheng, D. T., Richards, J. A., & Helmstetter, F. J. (2007). Activity in the human amygdala corresponds to early, rather than late period autonomic responses to a signal for shock. Learning and Memory, 14(7), 485-490

Cheng, D. T., Knight, D. C., Smith, C. N., & Helmstetter, F. J. (2006). Human amygdala activity during the expression of fear responses. Behavioral Neuroscience, 120(6), 1187-1195.

Knight, D. C., Smith, C. N., Cheng, D. T., Stein, E. A., & Helmstetter, F. J. (2004). Human amygdala and hippocampal activity during acquisition and extinction of fear conditioning. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 4(3), 317-325.

Knight, D. C., Cheng, D. T., Smith, C. N., Stein, E. A., & Helmstetter, F. J. (2004). Neural substrates mediating human delay and trace fear conditioning. Journal of Neuroscience, 24(1), 218-228.

Cheng, D. T., Knight, D. C., Smith, C. N., Stein, E. A., & Helmstetter, F. J. (2003). Functional MRI of human amygdala activity during Pavlovian fear conditioning: Stimulus processing versus response expression. Behavioral Neuroscience, 117(1), 3-10.