Research

 

My background includes neuropsychology, neurophysiology and cognitive neuroscience. I use imaging and neurophysiological techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), combined with behavioural protocols involving healthy humans and clinical populations. 

Earlier in my career, I investigated neuropsychological deficits in brain damaged patients (e.g., hemispatial neglect, “pusher syndrome”). Currently, I study action learning, social interaction and the concept of the self at a sensorimotor level. I also have a keen interest in the synergistic cooperation between sensorimotor structures and reward centres. Specifically, its role in shaping behavior (why we do what we do), in supporting social interaction (representing others’ actions) and in guiding desire (why we like an object more than another; subjective preference of art, neuroaesthetics).

Keywords: #Action perception #Subjective preference #Neuroaesthetics #Mirror neuron systems #Self-concept #Embodiment #Mimetic desires #Goal contagion #Social interaction #Sensorimotor learning #Neglect #Cultural participation

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Collaborations: 

Prof. Sonja Kotz (Maastricht University, NL)

Prof. Raffaella Rumiati (International School of Advanced Studies, ISAS-SISSA, Trieste, Italy)

Dr. Antonino Casile (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA & Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy)  

Dr. Cosimo Urgesi (University of Udine, Italy)

Prof. Simone Schütz-Bosbach (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet, Munich,Germany)

Prof. Peter Keller (The MARCS Institute, Sydney, Australia)

Dr. Florian Waszak (Univerity Paris Descartes, Paris, France)

Dr. Giacomo Novembre (UCL, London, U.K.)

Dr. Emily Cross (Bangor University, UK)

Dr. Moritz Daum (ETH, Zurich, Switzerland)

Dr. Beatriz Calvo-Merino (City University London, UK and University Complutense Madrid, Spain)

Dr. Mathias Pessiglione  (ICM, Paris, France)