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Giorgio Vallortigara
PeerJ Editor & Reviewer
1,980 Points

Contributions by role

Reviewer 45
Editor 1,935

Contributions by subject area

Animal Behavior
Developmental Biology
Evolutionary Studies
Zoology
Neuroscience
Veterinary Medicine
Psychiatry and Psychology
Agricultural Science
Anatomy and Physiology
Marine Biology
Anthropology
Orthopedics
Ecology
Cognitive Disorders

Giorgio Vallortigara

PeerJ Editor & Reviewer

Summary

Giorgio Vallortigara is Professor of Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences at the University of Trento, Italy, and he has been an Adjunct Professor at the School of Biological, Biomedical and Molecular Sciences at the University of New England, Australia.
He is the author of over 250 scientific papers (with more than 11900 citations overall; h-index: 53 Scopus; 62 Google Scholar), most in the area of animal cognition and comparative neuroscience. He discovered the first evidence of functional brain asymmetry in the so-called “lower” vertebrate species (fish, amphibians); he also worked on comparative cognition, in particular on visual perception of biological motion, and spatial and number cognition. He served in the editorial boards of several cognitive science and neuroscience journals, he is co-editor of the journal “Laterality: Asymmetries of Brain, Body and Cognition” and has been the recipient of several awards.
His major research interest is the study of cognition in a comparative and evolutionary perspective, with particular reference to the mechanisms underlying the use of geometry in spatial navigation and the origins of number and object cognition in the animal brain. He also studied extensively the evolution of the asymmetry of the brain.

Animal Behavior Neuroscience Psychiatry & Psychology Zoology

Editorial Board Member

PeerJ - the Journal of Life & Environmental Sciences

Past or current institution affiliations

University of Trento

Work details

Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience

University of Trento
Centre for Mind-Brain Sciences
Spatial cognition in the avian brain and rodent brain. I am interested in the mechanisms underlying use of geometry in spatial navigation. I use domestic chicks, mice and rats as systems model and a combination of behavioural and neurobiological methods. Number cognition, using operant and imprinting techniques in frogs, some species of corvids, and domestic chicks. The research work involves investigation of both cardinal and ordinal aspects of number. We also plan to investigate intuitive notions of probability in animals (in chicks and non-human primates). Biological predisposition in recognition of animated objects. The research project involves investigation of phenomena such as biological motion perception and face-like stimuli recognition. We study newly-hatched chicks and human newborns using behavioural techniques and, respectively, immunohistochemistry and NIRS for investigation of the brain areas involved in the biological predispositions.

Websites

  • ReserchGate
  • Google Scholar
  • PubMed Search

PeerJ Contributions

  • Edited 15

Academic Editor on

December 21, 2021
The relationship between numerosity perception and mathematics ability in adults: the moderating role of dots number
Ji Sun, Pei Sun
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12660 PubMed 35036148
November 15, 2021
Can harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) discriminate familiar conspecific calls after long periods of separation?
Mila Varola, Laura Verga, Marlene Gunda Ursel Sroka, Stella Villanueva, Isabelle Charrier, Andrea Ravignani
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12431 PubMed 34820184
December 16, 2020
Observing animals and humans: dogs target their gaze to the biological information in natural scenes
Heini Törnqvist, Sanni Somppi, Miiamaaria V. Kujala, Outi Vainio
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10341 PubMed 33362955
July 7, 2020
Universality vs experience: a cross-cultural pilot study on the consonance effect in music at different altitudes
Giulia Prete, Danilo Bondi, Vittore Verratti, Anna Maria Aloisi, Prabin Rai, Luca Tommasi
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9344 PubMed 32704441
July 10, 2019
An attention bias test to assess anxiety states in laying hens
Dana L.M. Campbell, Peta S. Taylor, Carlos E. Hernandez, Mairi Stewart, Sue Belson, Caroline Lee
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7303 PubMed 31333910
June 7, 2019
Opposite asymmetries of face and trunk and of kissing and hugging, as predicted by the axial twist hypothesis
Marc H.E. de Lussanet
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7096 PubMed 31211022
July 5, 2018
Motor self-regulation in goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) in a detour-reaching task
Jan Langbein
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5139 PubMed 30002972
March 15, 2018
The right thalamus may play an important role in anesthesia-awakening regulation in frogs
Yanzhu Fan, Xizi Yue, Fei Xue, Steven E. Brauth, Yezhong Tang, Guangzhan Fang
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4516 PubMed 29576980
January 4, 2018
Pupillometry reveals the physiological underpinnings of the aversion to holes
Vladislav Ayzenberg, Meghan R. Hickey, Stella F. Lourenco
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4185 PubMed 29312818
October 24, 2017
The head turn paradigm to assess auditory laterality in cats: influence of ear position and repeated sound presentation
Wiebke S. Konerding, Elke Zimmermann, Eva Bleich, Hans-Jürgen Hedrich, Marina Scheumann
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3925 PubMed 29085747
December 1, 2015
Upright or inverted, entire or exploded: right-hemispheric superiority in face recognition withstands multiple spatial manipulations
Giulia Prete, Daniele Marzoli, Luca Tommasi
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1456 PubMed 26644986
August 4, 2015
Awake fMRI reveals a specialized region in dog temporal cortex for face processing
Daniel D. Dilks, Peter Cook, Samuel K. Weiller, Helen P. Berns, Mark Spivak, Gregory S. Berns
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1115 PubMed 26290784
October 23, 2014
Chicks change their pecking behaviour towards stationary and mobile food sources over the first 12 weeks of life: improvement and discontinuities
Kenneth J. Murphy, Thomas J. Hayden, John P. Kent
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.626 PubMed 25374777
September 30, 2014
One pair of hands is not like another: caudate BOLD response in dogs depends on signal source and canine temperament
Peter F. Cook, Mark Spivak, Gregory S. Berns
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.596 PubMed 25289182
July 1, 2014
Is painting by elephants in zoos as enriching as we are led to believe?
Megan English, Gisela Kaplan, Lesley J. Rogers
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.471 PubMed 25071994