ABC Team Members

Giorgio Vallortigara  

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.  

Judit Abdai

I am interested in social behaviour and cognition of non-human species. Previously, I studied dog-robot interactions, including dogs’ perception of social agents. In the ABC group, I study the development of animacy perception in zebrafish, using ethological and neurobiological approaches.

Elena Eccher

I've always been interested in understanding what is innate and what is acquired knowledge. For this
reason I focus my research on comparative studies where I can explore cognition across differente
ages, cultures and species. At the moment I am working on better understansing Spatial Numerical
Association and how they might be biological predisposed. At the same time in collaboration with
Dr. Orsola Rosa Salva to investigate cross-modal numerical correspondence in newborn chicks.

Massimo De Agrò

I am interested in the brain simplification solutions of invertebrates. When constrained by a limited number of neurons, brains have to develop clever circuitry to save computational power while maintaining function. My main model species is the jumping spider. Currently, I am supported by the Caritro foundation to better understand how these spider's multi-eyed visual system functions.

Dmitry Kobylkov

I am intersted in a broad range of animal behaviours and their underlying neuronal mechanisms. During my PhD I studied magnetoreception in migratory birds. As a postdoc in the ABC group, I focus on neuronal correlates underlying numerical abilities in domestic chicks.

Elena Lorenzi

Comparative developmental neuroethology is my main and broad research interest. Currently, I am focussing my work on  unlearned predispositions from a behavioural and neurophysiological perspective. Ranging from molecular biology 
to MRI techniques, I am studying the newborn brain and behaviour of domestic chicks, with a particular emphasis on number cognition, animacy perception and lateralization.

Alessandra Pross

I am interested in the development and evolution of the brain, employing a multidisciplinary approach that integrates behaviour, comparative neuroanatomy, hodology, and molecular biology. My primary goal is to map the neural substrates that link behaviour to specific patterns of brain activation. Using the domestic chick (Gallus gallus) as my main animal model, I investigate the neural mechanisms underlying innate behaviours. Specifically, I study brain activation patterns associated with imitation processes during the critical first moments of post-hatch life.
 

Anastasia Morandi Raikova

I am fascinated by the diverse spectrum of animal behaviours and the intricate neuronal processes that govern them. As a postdoc in the ABC group, my primary emphasis lies in exploring the evolutionary mechanisms, developmental processes, and critical periods that contribute to effective neural  coding in young domestic chicks.

Mirko Zanon

I merge my physics background with an interest in neuroscience, nature and biology. I take care of the computational aspects of different research in our group, programming various tools to perform, improve and facilitate behavioural experiments or neurobiological data analysis. In particular I'm involved in studies about numerical competences in animals (chicks and fish).

Matilde Perrino

I'm a PhD student working on how zebrafish discriminate the size of groups, either conspecifics or preys and neural circuits involved. My main interests are neurobiology in general, ethology and computational models. I also like philosophy and discussion on theoretical issues in (neuro)science.

Alessandra Gobbo

As a PhD student in the ABC group, I'm investigating whether brain asymmetries affect the ability of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to discriminate continuous and discrete quantities. To do so, I'm combining genetic and biomolecular studies with behavioural assays. I'm interested in neuroscience and neurobiology, with a focus on fish cognition.

Marco Gigliozzi

I am a PhD student driven by an insatiable curiosity about the cognitive abilities of non-human animals and captivated by the complex ways in which they behave, learn, and interact across different contexts. For this reason, I am currently studying the numerical abilities of a distinctive fish species, the archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix), whose unique hunting strategy sets it apart from other fish. I am also interested in ethology and neurobiology.

Serena Raus

Precocial avian species, like the domestic chick, serve as an ideal model because they are highly social and display complex learning behaviours immediately after hatching. During my PhD I'm focusing on the neural mechanisms of social responses and their possible mirror-system in naïve domestic chicks (Gallus gallus). My goal is to identify the brain circuits activated during both the execution and the observation of relevant actions, combining behavioral analysis with advanced neurobiological techniques. My core research interest is to understand the evolutionary and developmental foundations of social cognition and spontaneous motor imitation in the absence of prior experience.  

• Maria Bortot (ex PhD student, now post-doc  @ Invertebrate Neuroscience Group)
• Elisa Frasnelli (ex PhD student, now PI @ Invertebrate Neuroscience Group)
• Elisabetta Versace (ex PhD student, now PI @ Prepared Minds lab)

Andrea Messina  

I am a Developmental Biologist with a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology. My research interests keep on focusing on nervous system development and neurodegenerative disorders using frog, fish and mouse as animal models. I am currently applying my skills on a project finalized to “Imaging the neurobiology of numerosity” in fish and to establish the ability of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to discriminate numerosity.

Orsola Rosa Salva

My research uses a comparative and developmental approach to study cognitive development and the neural mechanisms underlying social cognition, perception, and abstraction, with a focus on environmental and genetic influences on cognitive and neural development. I investigate early-emerging social predispositions—such as sensitivity to animate motion, agency cues, and faces—using the domestic chick as a model to examine inborn mechanisms in the absence of prior visual experience. My work integrates behavioural methods and neural analyses to identify brain circuits supporting early social processing, including face-selective responses in naïve animals. In parallel, I collaborate on human infant research on early social attention in typical and atypical development, and on comparative studies of early numerical cognition.

Francesca Lo Bello

What cows can perceive and how do they use this information to guide their behaviour? These questions drive my research on lateralization in cattle. My work focuses on how cows respond to fearful and non-fearful stimuli using their left or right eye, to understand whether lateralized perception affects the expression of their behaviour. By identifying consistent patterns in how cows process potentially stressful situations, my research aims to improve the safety of farm technicians working in close contact with these large animals. My research interests seem to ignore the concept of “average size.” When I’m not observing cows and their use of left and right eyes, I dive into the worlds of tiny jumping spiders and insect, such as antlions and crickets. This unusual mix lets me compare how animals, huge or miniature, adjust their behaviour to live in their own environments.

Toshiya Matsushima

Hokkaido University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Behavioural Neurobiology Lab (Professor Emeritus)
Health Science University of Hokkaido, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Clinical Toxicology Lab (Visiting Scientist)

What are we, humans? This simple question of my youth has been driving my life-long scientific interests and career. Initially this led me to tackle lower vertebrates such as toads, salmons and lampreys. Through my first 10 years of struggle, seeking what we used to be during the last 500 million years, I recognized that CNS of humans (Primate) and lampreys (Agnatha) are composed of same set of molecules constructed on identical design. These are same but definitely different. I therefore redirected myself to birds, as birds constitute the other taxonomic branch toward high faculties, the other way than primates. During my bird era up to today, I have been fascinated by the fashion, in which the newly hatched domestics chicks show human-like rational/irrational behaviours in economical decision making and social challenges. Most recently, I am working on the seemingly classical issues of imprinting, because its impairment shares many features with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) in humans. I am tracking this by using pharmacology, electrophysiology, with some aids of molecular biology of developmental biology. The next step will be the number sense, math logics, and their fundamentals. 

More information and Publications:
https://sites.google.com/view/matsushima-2022/

Bastien Lemaire

As an ethologist, I dedicate myself to studying social predispositions in vertebrates and invertebrates.
My main research objective is to identify the social signals that animals use to detect the presence of other living organisms in their environment. Currently, my research mostly focuses on the cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, used as a model for understanding cognition and animacy features. I am also interested in the effects of the environment and climate change on the perception and cognition of cuttlefish.

Link to Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=dM6Ena0AAAAJ&hl=fr&oi=ao
Link to current lab: https://ethos.univ-rennes.fr/interlocuteurs/bastien-lemaire
Current position: Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow

Ciro Petrone

I hold a degree in Medical Biotechnology with a total of nine years research experience. During those years, I gained extensive skills in molecular biology techniques while focusing on stem cells transcriptional regulation. In Italy, at the CNR, I have had the possibility to understand more about embrionyc dopaminergic neuronal differentiation, and after moving abroad I shifted my interests to the adult neurogenesis. There, as research assistant at the Helmholtz Center of Munich, I investigated the role of Dlx transcriptional factors in differentiating neural stem cells and gave my contribution to the first published scientific work that shows, in vitro, how mammalian adult neural stem cells divide asymmetrically. Coming back in Italy I joined the CIMeC in Rovereto providing technical support to the animal house facility and the research activities.

Giampaolo Morbioli

Dr. Giampaolo Morbioli - Veterinarian in charge for the animals health status and well-being at the animal facility of CiMeC. Since 1992 I have dealt with Laboratory Animal Medicine, working at the University of Verona for a responsible management of various species used in research (monkeys, rats, mice); from 2012 my interest has extended also to “emerging” species, such as fishes and chicks. I belong to the “Organismo Preposto al Benessere degli Animali” (OPBA), an organism the University of Trento founded in order to comply with the Italian legislation on animal testing (D.L. vo 26/2014). I collaborate with CiMeC researchers for the drafting and presentation of experimental projects which make use of laboratory animals. As designed veterinarian (D.L. vo. 26/2012) I’m the spokesman of CiMeC with the competent health authorities: APPTS and the Minister of Health.

Tommaso Pecchia

I worked as a doctoral fellow at the University of Trieste focusing my research activity on spatial behaviour in avian species, particularly domestic chicks and homing pigeons, also investigating brain lateralization associated with navigation and spatial cognition. After a post-doctoral experience in the same research area, I moved here in Rovereto to set up the ACN laboratory and to provide techical and administrative support to researchers.

Grazia Gambardella

A degree in Politics and the following Master in Local Development contributed to my open-minded attitude, as my studies gave me the chance to develop multi-functional skills in many different areas. I come from a long experience in a French multinational company, where I worked in administration and purchasing before been assigned to the control of the final stage of production flow. In CIMeC I am the administrative support at the ACN laboratory.

Davide Potrich

In my previous experience, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at CIMeC focusing my research on studying the cognitive aspects connected to the numerical abilities of several fish species. Currently, in the ACN Lab, I provide technical and administrative support to researchers.