Action, Perception & Motor Cognition
How action execution, observation, imagery and object interaction are encoded across sensorimotor systems.
Mirror neuron system · Grasping · Motor learningHuman neuroscience · Parma, Italy
Neuroimaging Lab – University of Parma
Exploring the neural architecture of human action, cognition and recovery
We investigate how distributed cortical, subcortical and cerebellar networks support human perception, action and cognition—and how these systems reorganise following neurological injury.
Department of Medicine and Surgery
University of Parma
University of Parma
01About the lab
Understanding the brain across systems, scales and recovery
The Neuroimaging Lab combines advanced human neuroimaging, experimental cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuroscience to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying action, perception and cognition.
Our work integrates functional MRI, structural and diffusion imaging, advanced computational analyses and behavioural and neuropsychological assessment. We study healthy participants alongside neurological populations—including people with stroke, cerebral palsy and disorders of consciousness—to understand brain connectivity, motor cognition, action observation and plasticity. By linking distributed neural systems to behaviour and recovery, we aim to develop rigorous, mechanistically informed approaches to translational neuroscience and neurorehabilitation.
Discover our scientific approach02Research pillars
From neural representations
to clinical translation
Four connected programmes shape our work.
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Brain Networks & Connectivity
How cortical, subcortical and cerebellar regions interact as distributed, adaptive neural networks.
gPPI · DCM · Connectomics · Network neuroscienceNeuroplasticity & Rehabilitation
How neural systems reorganise after injury and how targeted interventions can support functional recovery.
Stroke · Cerebral palsy · AOT · Virtual realityConsciousness, Interoception & Predictive Control
How cerebellar–cortical networks integrate bodily signals, predict errors and guide the adaptive correction of behaviour.
Consciousness · Interoception · Error prediction · Cerebellum03Featured research
01
Neural mechanisms of Action Observation
How the human brain maps observed actions onto motor representations, from healthy adults to neurological populations.
Explore the programme02
Brain network reorganisation after stroke
Task-based fMRI and connectivity analyses reveal disruption and recovery across cortical–subcortical–cerebellar motor networks.
Explore the programme03
Action Observation Therapy
Neuroscience-informed rehabilitation combining action observation, technology and intensive motor practice.
Explore the programme04
Developing action representations
How novel actions and objects are created, integrated and updated across visual and haptic modalities.
Explore the programme04Methods
A multimodal view
of the human brain
Our methodological toolbox connects brain structure, functional dynamics, computational representations and behaviour.
01Functional MRI02Diffusion MRI03Structural MRI04Task connectivity05Resting state06MVPA07RSA08DCM09PPI / gPPI10Network neuroscience11Neuropsychology12Clinical trials
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