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Department of Educational Psychology










WONG Wai-Ho, Savio, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, BCogSc, Ph.D. (HKU)


Savio Wong received his Bachelor in Cognitive Science and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Hong Kong. Before joining CUHK in 2017, he served as Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Southern California, Founding Director of the Centre for Brain and Education and Associate Head of the Department of Special Education and Counselling at the Education University of Hong Kong. He received Fulbright-RGC HK Senior Research Scholar Award and was appointed as Visiting Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018. Course taught at present: Psychology of Learning and Teaching, Developing Higher Order Thinking, Selected Topics in the Science of Learning. Research Interest: neural mechanism of impulsivity and decision-making in adolescents, psychophysiological markers of emotion, application of wearable sensors in special education (e.g. assisting the learning of students with autism or ADHD).
Inhibition control, decision making, ADHD, psychophysiology

Recent and ongoing research activities:

  1. Neural correlate of inhibition control, impulsivity and decision-making. Our lab has been studying the neural mechanism of inhibition control, impulsivity and decision-making in typically developing adolescents and children with special educational needs (SEN) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and psychophysiology (e.g. HR and SCR) technologies.
  2. Monitoring the emotional change of SEN students with wearable sensors. Another focus of our lab is to apply wearable sensor technology to examine the dynamic change of emotions in SEN students (e.g. ASD, AD/HD) and evaluate the impact of intervention programmes on the emotional well-being of SEN students.
  1. So, W. K., Wong, S. W., Mak, J. N., & Chan, R. H. (2017). An evaluation of mental workload with frontal EEG. PloS one, 12(4), e0174949.
  2. Lu, H., Ma, S., Wong, S., Chan, S., and Lam, L. (2017). Aberrant interhemispheric functional connectivity within default mode network and its relationships with neurocognitive features in cognitively normal APOE ε 4 elderly carriers. International Psychogeriatrics, 29(5), 805-814.
  3. Wong, S.W.H., Chan, R.H.M., and Mak, J. N. (2014). Spectral Modulation of Frontal EEG During Motor Skill Acquisition: a mobile EEG study. International Journal of Psychophysiology. 91, 16-21.
  4. He, Q., Xiao, L., Xue, G., Wong, S.W., Ames, S.L., and Bechara, A. (2014). Altered Dynamics Between Neural Systems Sub-serving Decisions for Unhealthy Food. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 8, 350
  5. He, Q., Xiao, L., Xue, G., Wong, S., Ames, S., Schembre, S., Bechara, A. (2014). Poor ability to resist tempting calorie rich food is linked to altered balance between neural systems involved in urge and self-control. Nutrition Journal, 13(1): 92.
  6. Ames, S.L., Wong, S.W., Cappelli, C., Dust, M., Grenard, J.L., Bechara, A. and Stacy, A.W. (2014). Neural Correlates of a Go/NoGo Task with Alcohol Stimuli in Light and Heavy Young Drinkers. Behavioural Brain Research, 274: 382-389.
  7. Ames, S.L., Grenard, J.L., He, Q., Stacy, A.W., Wong, S.W., Xiao, L., Xue, G., and Bechara, A. (2014). Functional Imaging of an Alcohol Implicit Associations Test (IAT). Addiction Biology, 19, 467-481.
  8. Garrison, K. A., Aziz-Zadeh, L., Wong, S.W., Liew, S-L., and Winstein, C. J. (2013). Modulating the motor system by action observation after stroke. Stroke, 44, 2247-2253.
  9. Ames, S.L., Grenard, J., Stacy, A., Xiao, L., He, Q., Wong, S.W., Xue, G., Wiers, R.W., and Bechara, A. (2013). Functional Imaging of Implicit Marijuana Associations During Performance on an Implicit Association Test (IAT). Behavioural Brain Research, 256, 494-502.
  10. Koritzky, G., He, Q., Xue, G., Wong, S.W., Xiao, L. and Bechara, A. (2013). Processing of time within the prefrontal cortex: recent time engages posterior areas whereas distant time engages anterior areas. NeuroImage, 72, 280-286.
  11. Zhao, M., Chow, T.W.S., Chan, R.H.M., and Wong, S.W.H. (2013). Trace Ratio Linear Discriminant Analysis for Disease Classification: A Case Study of Dementia. IEEE Signal Processing Letters, 20, 431-434.
  12. Xiao, L., Bechara, A., Gong, Q., Huang, X., Li, X., Xue, G., Wong, S.W., Lu, Z., Palmer, P., Wei, Y., Jia, Y., and Johnson, C.A. (2013). Abnormal affective decision making revealed in adolescent binge drinkers using a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 27, 443-454.
  13. Shoemaker, J. K., Wong, S.W., and Cechetto, D. F. (2012). Cortical circuitry associated with reflex cardiovascular control in humans: does the cortical autonomic network "speak" or "listen" during cardiovascular arousal? Anatomical Record, 295, 1375-1384.
  14. Shoemaker, J.K., Usselman, C.W., Rothwell, A., and Wong, S.W. (2012). Altered cortical activation patterns associated with baroreflex unloading following 24 hours of physical deconditioning. Experimental Physiology, 12, 1249-1262.
  15. Wong, S.W., and Bechara, A. (2012). The Future of Technology in Psychology, Psychiatry, and Neurology: Implications for Training and Treatment. In: L’Abate, L., and Kaiser, D.A. (Eds.), Handbook of Technology in Psychology, Psychiatry, and Neurology: Theory, Research, and Practice. (pp. 425-437). New York, NY: Nova.
  16. Wong, S.W., Gui, X., and Bechara, A. (2011). Integrating fMRI with psychophysiological measurements in the study of decision making. Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology and Economics, 4, 85-94.
  17. Sörös, P., Al-Otaibi, F., Wong, S.W., Shoemaker, J.K., Mirsattari, S.M., Hachinski, V., and Martin R. E. (2011). Stuttered swallowing: electric stimulation of the right insula interferes with water swallowing. A case report. BMC Neurology, DOI:10.1186/1471-2377-11-20.
  18. Al-Otaibi, F., Wong, S.W., Shoemaker, J.K., Parrent, A.G., and Mirsattari, S.M. (2010). The cardioinhibitory responses of the right posterior insular cortex in an epileptic patient. Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, 88, 390-397.
  19. Wong, S.W., Jong, L., Bandur, D., Bihari, F., Yen, Y., Takahashi, A.M., Lee, D.H., Steven, D., Parrent, A.G., Pigott, S.E., and Mirsattari, S.M. (2009). Cortical reorganization following anterior temporal lobectomy in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. Neurology,73, 518-525.
  20. Wong, S.W., Kimmerly, D.S., Massé, N., Menon, R.S., Cechetto, D.F., and Shoemaker, J.K. (2007). Sex differences in forebrain and cardiovagal responses at the onset of isometric handgrip exercise: a retrospective fMRI study. Journal of Applied Physiology, 103, 1402-1411.
  21. Kimmerly, D.S., Wong, S.W., Salzer, D., Menon, R.S. and J.K. Shoemaker. (2007) Forebrain regions associated with postexercise differences in autonomic and cardiovascular function during baroreceptor unloading. American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 293, H299-H306.
  22. Wong, S.W., Massé, N., Kimmerly, D.S., Menon, R.S., and Shoemaker, J.K. (2007). Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Cardiovagal Control in Conscious Humans. NeuroImage, 35, 698-708.
  23. Kimmerly, D.S., Wong, S.W., Menon, R.S., and Shoemaker, J.K. (2007). Forebrain neural patterns associated with sex differences in autonomic and cardiovascular function during baroreceptor unloading. American Journal of Physiology, Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 292, R715-R722.
  24. Hou, J., Wong, S., Wang, Q., Feng, J., Pu, Y., and Gao, J (2002). Functional MRI studies of acupuncture analgesia modulating within human brain. Chinese Journal of Radiology, 36, 206-210. (In Chinese)