Advisory Board and Editors Cognitive Disorders
Giovanni Ottoboni
My research interests spread across the domains of clinical and general psychology.
I am interested in studying how to implement psychosocial care programs for frail people at best. In particular, I am exploring the ways decision-making processes can improve the services supporting people with dementia and the strategies to make more effective palliative care programs.
Since late 2018, I have been co-coordinating an E+ project, the SiDeCar project, which aims to develop a Higher Education program of studies focused on psychosocial care for people with dementia.
Finally, I am interested in studying the implicit and explicit mental processes mediating reflexive representations and the ones supporting both human-human and human-objects interaction.
Pierpaolo Pani
Dr. Pierpaolo Pani is a Associate Professor within the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome. He received a MSc in Experimental Psychology and PhD in Neurophysiolgy (Behavioral and Integrative) at Sapienza University (Rome), and was a post-doc in KULeuven (Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology).
Dr. Pani's main topics of investigation include Cognitive control, executive functions, goal-oriented behavior and decision making. These topics include behavioral and psychophysiological investigations in humans; behavioral and neuronal dynamics investigations in mammals; characterization of executive functions control in psychiatric conditions.
Don C Rojas
Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience
Chair, Department of Psychology
The main focus of my research endeavors is sensory and motor processing in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and childhood onset schizophrenia. A major theme in my work has been the identification of heritable biomarkers in autism, using non-invasive neuroimaging and electrophysiological techniques in first-degree relatives. Recent work has focused on auditory temporal processing and gamma-band timing deficits as well as magnetic resonance spectroscopy of amino acid neurotransmitter systems associated with gamma-band oscillations. I am also affiliated with the Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Laboratory and Brain Imaging Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and have expertise in several brain-imaging methods, primarily MEG, but also including structural MRI, fMRI and MR spectroscopy. Current research at CSU involves EEG and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine the coupling of electrophysiology and hemodynamics in sensory and motor systems.
Susanne Schmid
Susanne Schmid is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario. Her research focuses on sensory information processing and sensory gating mechanisms. She uses mainly rodents to explore synaptic mechanisms and neuronal circuits underlying sensory gating in healthy subjects and in animal models for schizophrenia and autism.
Claudia Scorolli
I am a Cognitive Scientist working as Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies of the University of Bologna.
I obtained my PhD in Philosophy of Language, Linguistics and Cognitive Sciences in 2009 at the University of Bologna, and my PsyD in Clinical Psychology, specialized in Analytical Psychodrama, in 2014 at the Mosaico Institute of Bologna (certified by MIUR).
My research has been focused on grounding of language in sensorimotor processes, as well as on language as social tool which modifies human's way to interact with the world. My experimental work currently extends to the study of the possibilities for physical/social interactions offered by the current interactive context, i.e. physical and social affordances. My scientific interest includes the investigation of cultural factors influencing cognitive and emotional processes.
From a clinical perspective, I have scrutinized new clinical interventions in the field of neurocognitive disorders, as psychosocial interventions for people with dementia.
Brett Trost
Dr. Brett Trost is a Scientist in the Molecular Medicine Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. He is a computational biologist with a particular interest in human genetics.
David Vauzour
Dr David VAUZOUR received his PhD from the University of Montpellier (France) in 2004. His research, based at the University of Reading (2005-2011), and at the Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, UK (2011- present), has focused on investigating the molecular mechanisms that underlie the accumulating body of epidemiological, and medical evidence, on a positive correlation between the consumption of diets rich in fruits and vegetables and a decreased risk of (neuro)degenerative disorders. In this context, his initial work provided considerable insights into the potential for natural products to promote human vascular function, decrease (neuro)inflammation, enhance memory, learning and neuro-cognitive performances and to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. His recent interests concern how phytochemicals modulate ApoE genotype-induced cardiovascular risk and neurodegenerative disorders and their underlying mechanisms. Dr Vauzour sits on the board committee of “Groupe Polyphenols” and is the Co-Chair of the ILSI Europe “Nutrition and Mental Performance Task Force“.
Jennifer L Whitwell
Associate Consultant and Associate Professor of Radiology, Mayo Clinic.
Research focuses on the investigation of neuroimaging biomarkers in different neurodegenerative disorders, particularly frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia, atypical Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.
Editorial board member, Scientific Reports journal, Nature Publishing Group, 2014-present
Academic Editor, PeerJ journal, 2012-present
Junior Investigator Award for Excellence in Imaging and Aging Research, American Federation for Aging Research-GE Healthcare, 2010
Best Paper in Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging: New Investigator Award, Alzheimer's Association, 2009