Staff profile

I earned a Ph.D. in Brain Imaging Engineering in 2016 at Korea University and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at KU Leuven (Belgium) and Johns Hopkins University (USA) before joining Durham University as an assistant professor. 

I study how the brain processes social and emotional information, with a focus on mental health and neurodiversity. I use naturalistic neuroimaging techniques (fMRI and EEG) and computational modelling (deep learning and natural language processing) in my research. My specific area of interest is investigating the social touch perception and experience of autistic adults and those with depression and anxiety. 

If you are looking for an academic mentor and are interested in social neuroscience and autism research, please contact me. 

• Affect Computing
• Autism
• Brain structure and function
• EEG
• Machine Learning
• Mental Health
• Social Neuroscience
• Social Touch
• fMRI

Journal Article

• Lee Masson, H. (2025). Dynamic functional adaptations during touch observation in autism: connectivity strength is linked to attitudes towards social touch and social responsiveness. Molecular Autism, 16, Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-025-00644-6
• Masson, H. L., Chang, L., & Isik, L. (2024). Multidimensional neural representations of social features during movie viewing. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 19(1), Article nsae030. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsae030
• Lee Masson, H., Chen, J., & Isik, L. (2024). A shared neural code for perceiving and remembering social interactions in the human superior temporal sulcus. Neuropsychologia, 196, Article 108823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108823
• Lee Masson, H., & Isik, L. (2023). Rapid processing of observed touch through social perceptual brain regions: an EEG-fMRI fusion study. Journal of Neuroscience, 43(45), 7700-7711. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0995-23.2023
• Born, S. J., Shi, K., Lee Masson, H., Lee, H., Lee, Y., & Chen, J. (2023). Word-timestamped transcripts of two spoken narrative recall functional neuroimaging datasets. Data in Brief, 50, Article 109490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2023.109490
• Miralles, D., Garrofe, G., Pares, C., Gonzalez, A., Serra, G., Soto, A., Sevillano, X., de Beeck, H. O., & Masson, H. L. (2022). Multi-modal self-adaptation during object recognition in an artificial cognitive system. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 3772. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07424-9
• Ritchie, J. B., Masson, H. L., Bracci, S., & Op de Beeck, H. P. (2021). The unreliable influence of multivariate noise normalization on the reliability of neural dissimilarity. NeuroImage, 245, Article 118686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118686
• Masson, H. L., & Isik, L. (2021). Functional selectivity for social interaction perception in the human superior temporal sulcus during natural viewing. NeuroImage, 245, Article 118741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118741
• Masson, H. L., Pillet, I., Boets, B., & de Beeck, H. O. (2020). Task-dependent changes in functional connectivity during the observation of social and non-social touch interaction. Cortex, 125, 73-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2019.12.011
• Pillet, I., de Beeck, H. O., & Masson, H. L. (2020). A Comparison of Functional Networks Derived From Representational Similarity, Functional Connectivity, and Univariate Analyses. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13, Article 1348. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.01348
• Masson, H. L., de Beeck, H. O., & Boets, B. (2020). Reduced task-dependent modulation of functional network architecture for positive versus negative affective touch processing in autism spectrum disorders. NeuroImage, 219, Article 117009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117009
• Luyck, K., Goode, T. D., Masson, H. L., & Luyten, L. (2019). Distinct Activity Patterns of the Human Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis and Amygdala during Fear Learning. Neuropsychology Review, 29(2), 181-185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-018-9383-7
• Masson, H. L., Pillet, I., Amelynck, S., Van De Plas, S., Hendriks, M., Op de Beeck, H., & Boets, B. (2019). Intact neural representations of affective meaning of touch but lack of embodied resonance in autism: a multi-voxel pattern analysis study. Molecular Autism, 10(1), Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-019-0294-0
• Masson, H. L., Kang, H.-M., Petit, L., & Wallraven, C. (2018). Neuroanatomical correlates of haptic object processing: combined evidence from tractography and functional neuroimaging. Brain Structure and Function, 223(2), 619-633. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-017-1510-3
• Masson, H. L., & Op de Beeck, H. (2018). Socio-affective touch expression database. PLoS ONE, 13(1), Article e0190921. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190921
• Pegado, F., Hendriks, M. H., Amelynck, S., Daniels, N., Bulthe, J., Masson, H. L., Boets, B., & Op de Beeck, H. (2018). Neural Representations Behind `Social Norm' Inferences In Humans. Scientific Reports, 8, Article 12943. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31260-5
• Masson, H. L., Van de Plas, S., Daniels, N., & Op de Beeck, H. (2018). The multidimensional representational space of observed socio-affective touch experiences. NeuroImage, 175, 297-314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.04.007
• Pegado, F., Hendriks, M. H., Amelynck, S., Daniels, N., Bulthe, J., Masson, H. L., Boets, B., & Op de Beeck, H. (2018). A Multitude of Neural Representations Behind Multisensory ``Social Norm'' Processing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, Article 153. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00153
• Masson, H. L., Wallraven, C., & Petit, L. (2017). ``Can touch this'': Cross-modal shape categorization performance is associated with microstructural characteristics of white matter association pathways. Human Brain Mapping, 38(2), 842-854. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23422
• Masson, H. L., Bulthe, J., Op de Beeck, H. P., & Wallraven, C. (2016). Visual and Haptic Shape Processing in the Human Brain: Unisensory Processing, Multisensory Convergence, and Top-Down Influences. Cerebral Cortex, 26(8), 3402-3412. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhv170