Overview |  Research directions | Members | Publications | Grants | Ongoing Collaborations

Overview

The central nervous system of humans is built of interleaved serial or parallel sensorimotor processes of varying complexity that concur at producing a seemingly unitarian output, i.e. actions. Interactions between sensorimotor modules are of considerable complexity, but their individual contribution to behavior can be dissected by neurophysiology and the study of behavior in conditions of transitory or permanent abnormal nervous function. Sensorimotor transformations and integration between different modules are based on connections between different neural centers. Consequently, our understanding of the complexity of the Action system should be based on knowledge of what and when, information is shared between neural centers.

Research directions

The main direction is to understand how different sensorimotor processes interact in the human brain to build a unitary behavioral pattern. Main topics are:

  • interactions between rule-based and stimulus-based processes;
  • inhibitory phenomena and immobilization behavior;
  • eye-hand coordination in the action system.
  • predictive and reactive behavior in the frontal cortex
  • physiological rhythms and voluntary movement

Hypotheses in these domains are tested by the following methodology:

  • investigating in healthy humans the connections between different cortical nodes of sensorimotor networks by means of non-invasive brain stimulation (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation – TMS) coupled with anatomical connectivity data;
  • using TMS as a “hypothesis-independent” brain mapping tool by means of the dense mapping protocols;
  • investigating in neurosurgical intraoperative settings the functional connectivity within sensorimotor modules;
  • investigating in brain-lesioned patients patterns of abnormal sensorimotor associations.

Members

Publications

For a complete list see Luigi Cattaneo personal page

Grants

  • "Motivated Behaviour in the Superior Frontal Gyrus in Health and Disease (MoBS)" - PRIN program from the Italian Ministry of University - PI Luigi Cattaneo
  • NEURO-CONNECT, Systems neuroscience meets clinical neurosurgery: development of novel multimodal monitoring indices of brain connectivity in patients with glioma – granted by the CariVerona foundation total amount: 355.000 euros. PI: Francesco Sala;
  • A swing between the inner and the outer worlds: exploring the function of the frontal aslant tract with transcranial magnetic stimulation - grant of the BIAL foundation - PI Luigi Cattaneo.

Ongoing collaborations

  • University of Verona: Prof Francesco Sala - intraoperative electrophysiology of the motor system
  • University College London: Dr Davide Giampiccolo - intraoperative electrophysiology of the motor system
  • Aix-Marseille University: Dr. Thomas Brochier - the role of the parietal opercular cortex in haptically-guided movement.
  • University of Milan Statale: Prof. Corrado Sinigaglia and Dr. Guido Barchiesi - action observation in the parietal and premotor cortices
  • University of Pavia: Prof. Carlotta Lega - the role of the motor system in musical perception
  • Hospital of Bolzano: Dr. Pier Paolo Berti – non-invasive brain stimulation in the study of motor areas.
  • University of Brescia: Prof. Debora Brignani – brain lesions and oculomotor behavior: the neural bases of overt attention.