Research Scientist at the Istc-CNR Unit of Cognitive Primatology & Primate Center
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Phone: +39 06 3221437
Fax: +39 06 3217090
Address: Unit of Cognitive Primatology and Primate Center
Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies
National Research Council
Via Aldrovandi 16 b - 00197 Roma
Short bio
I am currently a research scientist at CNR, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Rome. I got a degree in Experimental Psychology at the University of Rome "La Sapienza", studying the factors affecting manual laterality in monkeys. Then I got a PhD in Psychobiology at the University of Padua, working on visual perceptual grouping processes in monkeys and fish. During my PhD I was a visiting student at the University of Leicester (UK), University of Georgia (USA), University College Dublin (IR). Then, I was a visiting scientist at the Universidade Federal do Parà, Belém (Brazil). I published more than 20 publications among scientific peer-reviewed journals and proceedings, and participated in several didactic projects. I am in charge as responsible for the management of the Primate Center.
Research interests
My current research focuses mainly on perception and classification of visual stimuli in human and non-human primates. Several issues are under investigation within each of these two major topics. The studies on visual stimuli perception include: the assessment of perceptual grouping processes, global/local perception and picture processing. Moreover, the studies regarding the ability to classify stimuli include the investigation of visual stimuli categorization on the basis of abstract concepts (e.g., same/different. I am also interested in other research topics such the hemispheric specialization, grasping techniques, learning processes and analogical reasoning.