Neuroscience of consciousness

I am an associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Bologna.

My research investigates the cognitive mechanisms and the neural correlates of visual perception, visuo-spatial attention and spatial representation both in neurologically intact individuals and patients with brain damage. My current primary interest is on the mechanisms mediating awareness in visual perception in patients with visual field defects. I am also focused on functional recovery and rehabilitation of visual disorders. To this aim, I use behavioural, neuropsychological and electrophysiological research methods.

My work is supported by projects grants from the Italian Ministry of Scientific Research and Education (MIUR).

Làdavas E, Tosatto L, Bertini C. Behavioural and functional changes in neglect after multisensory stimulation. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2020 Jun 30:1-28. doi: 10.1080/09602011.2020.1786411. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32602783.

Bertini C, Starita F, Passamonti C, Santoro F, Zamponi N, Michelucci R, Scarpazza C. Fear-specific enhancement of tactile perception is disrupted after amygdala lesion. J Neuropsychol. 2020 Mar;14(1):165-182. doi: 10.1111/jnp.12178. Epub 2019 Feb 4. PMID: 30714317.

Grasso PA, Pietrelli M, Zanon M, Làdavas E, Bertini C. Alpha oscillations reveal implicit visual processing of motion in hemianopia. Cortex. 2020 Jan;122:81-96. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.08.009. Epub 2018 Aug 27. PMID: 30245199.

Pietrelli M, Zanon M, Làdavas E, Grasso PA, Romei V, Bertini C. Posterior brain lesions selectively alter alpha oscillatory activity and predict visual performance in hemianopic patients. Cortex. 2019 Dec;121:347-361. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.09.008. Epub 2019 Oct 4. PMID: 31675675.

Bertini C, Cecere R, Làdavas E. Unseen fearful faces facilitate visual discrimination in the intact field. Neuropsychologia. 2019 May;128:58-64. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.07.029. Epub 2017 Jul 25. PMID: 28754489.

Bertini C, Pietrelli M, Braghittoni D, Làdavas E. Pulvinar Lesions Disrupt Fear-Related Implicit Visual Processing in Hemianopic Patients. Front Psychol. 2018 Nov 22;9:2329. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02329. PMID: 30524351; PMCID: PMC6261973.

Borhani K, Làdavas E, Maier ME, Avenanti A, Bertini C. Emotional and movement-related body postures modulate visual processing. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015 Aug;10(8):1092-101. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsu167. Epub 2015 Jan 1. PMID: 25556213; PMCID: PMC4526487.

Clinical Researcher

Francesco Di Gregorio

I got my M.S. in Neuroscience and Neuropsychology at the University of Bologna. Then I moved to Germany for my PhD at the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstand. In Germany, my research focused on electrophysiological correlates of error processing and conscious error awareness.

After my PhD I moved back to Italy at the University of Bologna where I started my collaboration with Prof. Vincenzo Romei. Our research focused on the study of oscillatory activity and EEG-based connectivity in conscious visual perception, attention and in at-risk populations, such as persons with accentuated schizotypy traits.

Currently, I am a clinical researcher at the AUSL of Bologna, where I am carrying out research activities in neurorehabilitation with stroke and traumatic brain injury patients. Moreover, I am part of a research team that studies electrophysiological and structural measures of brain connectivity in severe acquired brain injury and disorders of consciousness.

Di Gregorio F., Steinhauser M., Maier M.E. (2015) Error-related brain activity predicts conscious classification of different error types. TeaP 2015, Hildesheim.

Di Gregorio F., Maier M.E., Steinhauser M. (2016) Does the Feeling of Error Detection emerge already before the Response? TeaP 2016, Heidelberg.

Di Gregorio F., Maier M.E., Steinhauser M. (2018). Independent systems in human performance monitoring: evidence from error-related brain activity. SINP 2018, Palermo.

P224 Trajkovic J., Di Luzio P., Roperti C., Mercantoni E., Di Gregorio F., Romei V. Tuning alpha rhythms to shape conscious visual perception. Clinical Neurophysiology 131(4), e140e141.

P220 Trajkovic J., Di Gregorio F., Roperti C., Romei V. Pre-stimulus alpha frequency predicts the latency of visual evoked P1 component. Clinical Neurophysiology 131(4), e143-e144.

Di Gregorio F., Trajkovic J., Roperti C., Romei V. Electrophysiological and cognitive asymmetries underlying schizotypy. Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) 2019, 9-13 june, Rome, Italy.

Di Gregorio F., Casanova E., Petrone V., Bonora R., Ercolino M.G., Mongardi S; Ridolfi A., Simoni C., Leo M.R., Magni E., Ferri D., Provenzale C., Di Santantonio A., La Porta F., Piperno R. La Stimolazione Magnetica Transcranica ripetitiva abbinata al visual scanning riduce i sintomi cognitivi e lo squilibrio interemisferico nella Negligenza spaziale unilaterale sinistra dopo Ictus. SIRN, 2020, Napoli.

Maier M.E.; Di Gregorio F.; Muricchio T.; Di Pellegrino G. (2015), Impaired rapid error monitoring but intact error signaling following rostral anterior cingulate cortex lesions in humans. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 9:339 doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00339

Di Gregorio F.; Steinhauser M.; Maier ME. (2016), Error-related brain activity and error awareness in an error classification paradigm. Neuroimage 139: 202-210

Di Gregorio, F., Maier, M. E., & Steinhauser, M. (2018). Errors can elicit an error positivity in the absence of an error negativity: Evidence for independent systems of human error monitoring. NeuroImage, 172(January), 427–436.

Di Gregorio F, Ernst B, Steinhauser M. Differential effects of instructed and objective feedback reliability on feedback‐related brain activity. Psychophysiology. 2019:e13399. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13399

Di Gregorio, F., Maier, M. E., & Steinhauser, M. (2020). Are errors detected before they occur? Early error sensations revealed by metacognitive judgments on the timing of error awareness. Consciousness and Cognition, 77, 102857.

Post doctoral researcher

Matteo Frisoni

I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center of Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience where I investigate the neural and cognitive basis of temporal perception using behavioural, EEG and TMS techniques under the supervision of Prof. Romei. Previously, I obtained my Master’s degree at the Department of Psychology in Bologna. I then completed my PhD and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences in Chieti-Pescara (ITAB, Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies), where I studied temporal memory for complex events using fMRI and transcranial magnetic stimulation techniques. I am interested in temporal cognition, ranging from episodic memory to more fine-grained and perceptual scales.

Frisoni, M. “Effects of Non-Linear narration on memory for the time of movie scenes” (flash talk). Brainstorm Time, 2022, 23-24 June, Bologna, Italy.

Frisoni, M. “Temporal memory for complex events is supported by gamma oscillatory activity”(Regular Talk). ESCOP 2023, 23rd Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology, 2023, 6-9 September, Porto, Portugal.

Frisoni, M., Selvaggio, A., Tosoni, A., Sestieri, C. (2023). Long-term memory for movie details: selective decay for verbal information at one week. Memory, 31(9):1232-1243.

Frisoni, M., Di Ghionno, M., Guidotti , R., Tosoni, A., Sestieri, C. (2021). Reconstructive nature of temporal memory for movie scenes. Cognition, 208, 104557.

Procida, F., Frisoni, M., Tullo, M.G., Tosoni, A., Perrucci, M.G., Chiacchiaretta, P., Guidotti, R., Sestieri, C. Specialization for different memory dimensions in brain activity evoked by cued recollection.

Frisoni, M., Croce, P., Tosoni, A., Zappasodi, F., Sestieri, C. Shared spectral fingerprints of temporal memory precision and representation of the temporal structure of complex narratives.

Post doctoral researcher

Luca Tarasi

Luca Tarasi is a PhD student of the interdepartmental doctoral course in “Health and Technologies” at the Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari” and the Department of Electrical Energy and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi”.

His main research interests focus on the understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying perceptual decision-making and on the study of the processes underpinning alterations in the decision-making process in neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders. To this end, he uses a multi-methodological approach integrating the classic methods of cognitive neuroscience (EEG, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and behavioural paradigms) with the quantitative approaches typical of computational neuroscience branch such as neural modelling and machine learning algorithms applied to the electroencephalographic data analysis.

PUBLICATIONS IN PREPARATION

Di Luzio P., Tarasi L., Russo A., Romei V. “Driving plasticity in recurrent visual networks affects perceptual decision-making”. 7th International Conference on Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS), March 24 – 26, 2020 in Baden-Baden, Germany.

Di Luzio P., Tarasi L., Russo A., Romei V. “ Empowering feedback projections in visual networks affects perceptual decision-making in humans”

Research assistant

Margherita Covelli

I am a Research Assistant at the Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, within the Department of Psychology at the University of Bologna. I am currently working on multiple projects in the research field of perceptual decision-making, under the supervision of Prof. Vincenzo Romei.

I completed my Master’s degree in Neuroscience and Neuro-Psychological Rehabilitation in 2024. My experimental thesis involved an EEG study examining the neural underpinnings of prior learning and exploitation in perceptual decision-making, with a specific focus on post-feedback Theta and prestimulus Alpha oscillations.

My research interests include the neural correlates of decision-making and the interindividual differences emerging along the autism-schizophrenia continuum.

Research assistant

Chiara Tabarelli

I am a research assistant at the Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, under the supervision of Professor Vincenzo Romei.

I completed my Master’s degree in Neuroscience and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in 2024, with an experimental thesis on the role of neural oscillations in learning and exploiting prior knowledge during perceptual decision-making.

My research interests include the neural correlates of perception and decision-making, with a particular focus on brain oscillatory activity. I am currently working on projects investigating the influence of prior knowledge on perceptual outcomes, combining EEG recordings and non-invasive brain stimulation protocols (e.g., ccPAS) to explore the oscillatory underpinnings of these processes.

Visiting Researcher

Esteban Sarrias

I have a PhD in Psychology from the University of Seville (US), involved in investigating attentional alterations in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) using electroencephalography (EEG). I have worked in Rome (Università degli studi di Roma “Foro Italico”) where I learnt to apply neural sources analysis on EEG signal. Firstly, I formed part of a team at the Institute of Applied Linguistic (ILA) belonging to the University of Cadiz (UCA). I managed a project about language disorders in children in which we applied simultaneous recording EEG and eye-tracker to describe the neural mechanism involved in the integration of visual and auditory stimuli during the syntactic and semantic processing. Afterwards, I joined the Psychophysiology and Neuroimage Group and INIBiCA institute, whose leader is Dr. Javier González Rosa. Thanks to my achievements, I was awarded a competitive postdoctoral “Juan de la Cierva-Formación”fellowship to continue researching on brain correlation of deep and transcranial neuromodulation in Parkinson Disease (PD) and MS. At the moment, I am expanding my knowledge and abilities to run studies with simultaneous recording EEG and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). For this reason, I am a visiting researcher at the Center of Cognitive Neuroscience (Università di Bologna) in Cesena, under the supervision of Prof. Vincenzo Romei. My research interests include investigating and characterizing the brain mechanisms cortico-basal ganglia underlying cognitive function and dysfunction in both healthy subjects, MS and PD by using different functional neuroimaging techniques, such as high-density electroencephalography (EEG) and structural (MRI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) after application of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Visiting Fellow

Yennifer Ravelo-GonzÁlez

I’m a pre-doctoral researcher with a research staff training contract from the Government of the Canary Islands in the Department of Cognitive, Social, and Organisational Psychology at the University of La Laguna (Tenerife, Spain). Additionally, I work as a researcher at the University Institute of Neuroscience (IUNE), where I have collaborated on various research projects, including a national project (PDC2021-121850-I00) focused on developing a neuro-cognitive toolbox to assess approach-avoidance and inhibition in mental disorders. In this project, I worked with passive EEG and dry electrode EEG systems. My thesis investigates the underlying mechanisms of resilience in students who have experienced bullying and explores the application of a non-invasive brain stimulation technique to enhance resilience.

Ravelo, Y. “Resilient coping as a tool for post-traumatic growth in situations of bullying”. XI International Conference of Psychology and Education. 2023. 27-28 June, Valencia, Spain.

López-Aguilar, D., Álvarez-Pérez, P. R., & Ravelo, Y. (2022). Adaptability skills and the intention to drop out in university students. Revista de Investigación Educativa, 40(1), 237-255.

Ravelo, Y., Alegre O.M., Marrero, H., & Gonzalez-Mendez, R. (2022). Motivational mediation between coping and post-traumatic growth in previously bullied college students. Frontiers in Psychology, 13.

García-Marco, E., Nuez, A., Padrón, I., Ravelo, Y., Fu, Y., & Marrero, H. (2024). Negation And social avoidance in language recruits the right inferior frontal gyrus: a tDCS study. Frontiers in Psychology, 15.

PHD student

Giulia Benedetti

I completed my academic studies at the university of Bologna Alma Mater Studiorum, firstly obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Psychological Sciences and Techniques, and then a master’s degree in Neuroscience and Neuro-Psychological Rehabilitation. My master’s degree thesis focused on the concept of intentional binding in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) patients. I had the chance to spend two months at the Davis Center for Mind and Brain, California, contributing on the development of the experimental paradigm aimed to investigate visuospatial and temporal deficits that, according to literature, possibly underlie autism. I undertook a clinical internship at “Ausl della Romagna”, in the Department of Primary Care, primarily focusing on neuropsychological assessment, diagnosis, and rehabilitation of neuropsychological issues (due to various brain injuries). Currently, I started my PhD at the University of Nebrija, Madrid, in co-tutorship with the University of Bologna. I am interested in sense of agency, illusions of control and the process of attribution of causality.

PHD Student

Riccardo Bertaccini

I’m a research assistant at the Center of Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, whose activity is supervised by Professor Vincenzo Romei.

After some years spent in engineering studies, in 2019 I obtained my BSc in Sciences and Psychological Techniques at the University of Bologna with a thesis concerning the physiological relationship between nasal respiration and pupil dynamics, developed during an exchange period spent at the Karolinska Institutet. Afterwards, in 2021 I earned my MSc in Neuroscience and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation at the University of Bologna, with a thesis entitled “Boosting working memory capacity by strengthening long-range alpha-band functional connectivity over the frontoparietal pathway”. Specifically, the project was aimed at assessing whether a novel oscillatory-based ccPAS protocol was able to enhance frontoparietal connectivity in the alpha band and, at the same time, be beneficial to working memory performance.

My research focus concerns the oscillatory dynamics underlying functional as well as resting state connectivity. That is why I’m currently following up on these findings, adopting a methodological approach that spans from non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to electrophysiological measurements, matched with behavioral or resting states paradigms.

PhD Student

Michele Deodato

Michele Deodato is a Ph.D. student in Psychology at the University of Bologna. His research focuses on investigating the neural mechanisms underlying conscious perception and its individual differences in both healthy and clinical populations. Specifically, his work examines how neural oscillations, aperiodic brain activity, and eye movements shape individual sensory experiences and interpretations of the world, and how alterations of these processes may relate to various clinical conditions.

His research lies at the intersection of Psychology, Vision Science, and Computational Neuroscience, employing an integrative approach that combines psychophysics, eye-tracking, electroencephalography (EEG), and brain stimulation techniques. These methods are complemented by advanced quantitative data analyses to uncover how the brain constructs our subjective experience of the world, including both veridical and illusory perceptions.

Deodato, M., & Melcher, D. (2022). The effect of perceptual history on the interpretation of causality. Journal of Vision, 22(11), 13. https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.22.11.13

Deodato, M., & Melcher, D. (2023). Correlations between Visual Temporal Resolution and Individual Alpha Peak Frequency: Evidence that Internal and Measurement Noise Drive Null Findings. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01993

Deodato, M., & Melcher, D. (2024). Aperiodic EEG Predicts Variability of Visual Temporal Processing. The Journal of Neuroscience, 44(40), e2308232024. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2308-23.2024

Deodato, M., Ronconi, L., & Melcher, D. (2024). Schizotypal traits and anomalous perceptual experiences are associated with greater visual temporal acuity. Schizophrenia Research, 269, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2024.04.028

Deodato, M., Seeber, M., Mammeri, K., Michel, C. M., & Vuilleumier, P. (2024). Combined effects of neuroticism and negative emotional context on spontaneous EEG dynamics. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsae012

Fabius, J. H., Fracasso, A., Deodato, M., Melcher, D., & Van der Stigchel, S. (2023). Bilateral increase in MEG planar gradients prior to saccade onset. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 5830. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32980-z

PhD Student

Yue Hu

I completed my studies at Southwest Medical University (China), first with a Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Therapy and then with a Master of Medicine in Rehabilitation Medicine and Physiotherapy. My Master’s thesis investigated the efficacy and mechanisms of low- and high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on pain in a neuropathic rat model, focusing on the role of neuroinflammation, neuroplasticity and brain connectivity in the rat brain. Currently, I am pursuing a PhD in Psychology at the University of Bologna under the supervision of Professor Vincenzo Romei. My research interests are to enhance brain connectivity using TMS techniques, observe changes in visual perception, and investigate the role of brain oscillations in the process of enhanced connectivity in combination with EEG.

Hu Y, Zheng Y, Yang Y, Fang W, Huang M, Li D, Xu Z, Xu F, Wang J. A bibliometric analysis of cerebral palsy from 2003 to 2022. Front Neurol. 2024 Apr 2;15:1292587.

Xu Z, Zhong Q, Xing F, Zhu Y, Hu Y, Huang M, Zhou M, Wang J. rTMS and TENS Relieve Neuropathic Pain in CCI Model Rats by Modulating Central Nervous System TRPV1 and Neuroinflammation. Mediators Inflamm. 2024 Nov 21;2024:8500317.

Yang Y, Xia C, Xu Z, Hu Y, Huang M, Li D, Zheng Y, Li Y, Xu F, Wang J. rTMS applied to the PFC relieves neuropathic pain and modulates neuroinflammation in CCI rats. Neuroscience. 2024 Aug 30;554:137-145.

Li J, Wang J, Hu Y, Jian R, Zhao Y, Li D, Wan T, Jike W, Xu F, Huang M. Effects of repetitive functional magnetic stimulation in the sacral nerve in patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity after suprasacral spinal cord injury: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2023 Mar 17;24(1):199.

Hu Y, Zhu Y, Wen X, Zeng F, Feng Y, Xu Z, Xu F, Wang J. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation regulates neuroinflammation, relieves hyperalgesia and reverses despair-like behaviour in chronic constriction injury rats. Eur J Neurosci. 2022 Sep;56(6):4930-4947.

Xu Z, Zhu Y, Hu Y, Huang M, Xu F, Wang J. Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis of Neuropathic Pain Using Web of Science and CiteSpace for the Past 20 Years. World Neurosurg. 2022 Jun;162:e21-e34.

PHD student

Brendon Qela

I am a Ph.D. student at the Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Department of Psychology of the University of Bologna supervised by Caterina Bertini.

I graduated from the University of Pavia, in collaboration with IUSS, with a Master’s degree in Psychology, Neuroscience and Human Sciences. After graduating, I did a post-graduate internship at the IRCCS San Raffaele, where I conducted EEG and tACS experiments, specifically on the neuromodulation of sensory predictive processes and visual entrainment in adults with dyslexia.

My main research interests are the different cognitive processes underlying sensory perception and how we use them to interpret the environment.

PHD Student

Matteo Lai

Matteo Lai is a PhD student of the interdepartmental doctoral course in “Health and Technologies” at the Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi” with Professor Stefano Diciotti as supervisor and Professor Vincenzo Romei as co-supervisor.
His main research interests focus on deepening the knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) through neuroimaging, EEG, genetics and clinical data. His research project aims to explain the continuum of ASD and perform classification against control subjects by exploiting generative adversarial networks-based frameworks. This will allow the extraction of imaging- and feature-based biomarkers through explainable AI techniques.

PhD Student

Alessia Santoni

Alessia is a PhD student of the doctoral course in “Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences” at Vita-Salute San Raffale University (Milan), supervised by Prof. Luca Ronconi and co-supervised by Prof. Vincenzo Romei. She completed her master studies at CIMeC (University of Trento), after which she collaborated with Prof. David Melcher at the New York University Abu Dhabi. Her area of research is investigating the functional role of neural oscillations in relation to perceptual and attentional mechanisms using EEG and non-invasive brain stimulation (e.g., tACS), both in neurotypical and neurodiverse (e.g., Developmental Dyslexia) populations.