Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2014
Wanqing Li, Xiaoqin Mai, Chao Liu
469 citations
The default mode network (DMN) is involved in understanding others across emotion perception, empathy, theory of mind, and morality. The medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) plays a key role, with its subregions contributing differently: the ventral MPFC in the medial temporal lobe subsystem connects with emotion regions for emotional engagement; the anterior MPFC in cortical midline structures helps distinguish self from others; and the dorsal MPFC subsystem connects with the temporo-parietal junction for understanding others' mental states. As social behaviors become more complex, frontal regions involved are located higher, reflecting a shift from automatic to cognitive processing. Posterior cingulate cortex connectivity also changes. The DMN is indispensable for social understanding.
Healthcare
June 16, 2020
Chao Liu, Hao Chen, Chia-Yi Liu et al.
61 citations
An 8-week loving-kindness meditation training improved subjective well-being and spirituality among 98 flight attendants randomly assigned to either the meditation or a waiting control group. Mindfulness did not change significantly. The control group showed no changes in any measure. The authors suggest that loving-kindness meditation may help enhance well-being and spirituality, but the mechanisms behind these effects require further study.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
April 12, 2021
Hao Chen, Chao Liu, Xinyi Cao et al.
55 citations
An eight-week loving-kindness meditation (LKM) training program improved empathy and communication skills among 106 doctors in a Chinese hospital, but did not significantly change their mindfulness levels. Doctors randomly assigned to LKM training showed greater gains in empathy and communication compared with a waiting-list control group. The findings suggest LKM may help enhance physician-patient interactions, though the reasons for the lack of effect on mindfulness require further study.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
April 27, 2022
Hao Chen, Chao Liu, Fang Zhou et al.
25 citations
Focused-attention meditation (FAM) training improved surgeons' flow levels, communication skills, and safety attitudes, and was associated with a lower incidence of adverse clinical events. In a randomized trial with 140 surgeons from three hospitals in China, those who received 8 weeks of FAM training showed significant improvements on three scales measuring flow, communication, and safety attitudes compared to a waitlist control group. The FAM group also had significantly fewer adverse events during the intervention period. The findings suggest that cognitive ergonomics approaches such as FAM may help reduce patient safety incidents in surgical settings.
Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
July 4, 2025
Chao Liu, Li-Jen Lin, Kang-Jie Zhang et al.
7 citations
A randomized controlled trial of 92 Chinese police officers found that a 6-week program of daily 10-minute loving-kindness meditation guided by a short video app improved public service motivation, conflict resolution skills, and communication skills, but did not significantly enhance mindfulness. The intervention used a waitlist control group and validated scales. The results suggest that brief, digitally delivered compassion-focused meditation can be integrated into police training to strengthen prosocial motivation, de-escalation abilities, and public communication, potentially improving police-community interactions.
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
May 21, 2025
Chao Liu, Li-Jen Lin, Kang-Jie Zhang et al.
4 citations
An 8-week video-guided mindfulness meditation program, delivered via short video apps, significantly reduced communication anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, anger management difficulties, and mood disorders among police officers. In a randomized controlled trial with 92 full-time officers in China, those who completed daily 10-15 minute sessions showed greater improvements on validated measures compared to a control group. The findings suggest that digital mindfulness interventions can be an accessible tool for supporting mental well-being in law enforcement personnel.
BioPsychoSocial Medicine
May 10, 2024
Hao Chen, Chao Liu, Kan Wu et al.
3 citations
Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) improved trust and sense of calling while reducing communication anxiety and defensive medicine practice among doctors. In a randomized trial with 94 doctors from a Chinese hospital, those who completed an 8-week LKM program showed significantly higher trust and calling, and significantly lower communication anxiety and defensive medicine practice, compared to a waitlist control group. The control group showed no changes. The findings suggest LKM may help reduce defensive medicine practice by fostering positive psychological states.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
January 1, 2025
Ye-Hui Tu, Chao Liu, Zheng-Hao Gao et al.
A five-week app-guided mindfulness intervention (three minutes daily) improved psychological flexibility and self-compassion and reduced rumination and depressive symptoms among recently failed entrepreneurs. In a randomized trial with 100 participants aged 25–55, those who completed the daily mindfulness sessions showed significantly greater reductions in rumination and depression and greater increases in self-compassion and psychological flexibility compared to a waitlist control group. The findings suggest that brief, mobile-guided mindfulness practices can serve as a scalable tool to support mental health recovery after entrepreneurial failure.
Frontiers in Public Health
January 1, 2025
Chao Liu, Yehui Tu, Li-Jen Lin et al.
A four-week loving-kindness meditation (LKM) program delivered via a short video app improved interpersonal mindfulness, empathy, interdisciplinary collaboration, positive affect, and workplace well-being, while reducing negative affect among full-time employees. In a randomized controlled trial with 100 participants aged 25–60, those who completed daily three-minute LKM sessions showed significantly greater gains in all measured outcomes compared with a no-intervention control group. The findings suggest that brief, digitally guided compassion-based practices can be a feasible tool for enhancing emotional regulation and prosocial qualities in workplace settings.
European Journal of Psychology Open
July 1, 2024
Hao Chen, Chao Liu, Szu-Erh Hsu et al.
An 8-week loving-kindness meditation guided by a short video app led to higher oneness belief, positive affect, and pro-environmental behavior, and lower negative affect, compared with a wait-list control group. College students in China who completed the app-based meditation showed these improvements, while the control group showed no changes. The findings suggest that digital delivery of loving-kindness meditation can foster psychological and behavioral benefits related to environmental concern.
Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS
October 30, 2023
Chao Liu, Hao Chen, Ayuan Zhang et al.
An eight-week loving-kindness meditation guided by a short video app improved self-compassion and positive psychological capital and reduced suicide ideation among Chinese college students compared with a control group that received no intervention. Mindfulness did not change significantly. The app group of 37 participants showed higher self-compassion and positive psychological capital and lower suicide ideation after the intervention; the 37 control participants showed no differences on any measure. The findings suggest that combining positive psychology with digital media may help reduce suicide ideation in college students.
Cerebral Cortex
November 1, 2022
Menglu Chen, Ying He, Lei Hao et al.
The default mode network (DMN) and the frontal parietal network (FPN) mature at different rates in children, with the DMN reaching adult-like levels earlier than the FPN. In a longitudinal developmental fMRI study using an n-back task with 528 children and 103 young adults, children showed greater improvement over time but still performed worse than adults. Children had weaker DMN deactivation and FPN activation but stronger coupling between DMN and FPN regions. The coupling between the posterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex mediated the relationship between age and working memory-related functional coupling, and together with task-invoked PCC activity, accounted for children's behavioral improvement. The DMN appears to provide a scaffolding effect supporting the immature FPN during executive function development.
BMC Psychology
May 29, 2022
Chao Liu, Hao Chen, Yu-Chao Liang et al.
An 8-week loving-kindness meditation (LKM) training program for 100 employees at a Chinese knowledge-based enterprise increased altruism and reduced negative affect, playing dumb, and evasive hiding, but did not significantly improve mindfulness, positive affect, or rationalized hiding. The control group received no training. The findings suggest LKM may help reduce knowledge-hiding behaviors in workplace settings.
Frontiers in Psychology
May 26, 2022
Hao Chen, Chao Liu, Fang Zhou et al.
Animation-guided meditation, compared with audio-guided meditation, significantly increased mindfulness and creativity levels while reducing cognitive load over an 8-week intervention. Mindfulness had both a direct positive effect on creativity and indirect effects through flow and positive affect. The study involved 95 participants recruited from a creative industrial park, randomly assigned to animation (n=48) or audio (n=47) guided meditation sessions three times per week. Animation proved more effective than audio as a meditation guidance tool, likely because it lowers cognitive demands and improves cognitive ability, making it easier for people without meditation training to achieve a mindful state.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
March 1, 2022
Chao Liu, Hao Chen, Xinyi Cao et al.
A randomized controlled trial with 91 doctors in a Chinese hospital found that an 8-week mindfulness meditation program improved mindfulness, patient safety culture, and patient safety competency, and reduced adverse events compared to a waiting control group. The control group showed no significant changes. The authors conclude that mindfulness meditation is a simple and effective intervention for improving patient safety.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2022
Chao Liu, Hao Chen, Fang Zhou et al.
An 8-week loving-kindness meditation (LKM) training, guided either by an animated pedagogical agent (APA) or by audio alone, improved spirituality and subjective wellbeing among 82 flight attendants. APA-guided meditation also significantly enhanced social presence, whereas audio-guided meditation did not affect social presence. The findings suggest that APA-guided LKM offers a simple, accessible method for boosting mental health, particularly in contexts where in-person guidance is unavailable.