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ANTONINO VALLESI

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Position

Professore Ordinario

Address

VIA GIUSTINIANI, 5 - PADOVA

Telephone

0498214450

Academic Positions
From 1/9/22. Full professor. Dip. Neuroscienze - Padova Univ.
From 1/4/14. Associate professor, Unipd
From 1/9/12 to 31/3/14. Researcher, Unipd
2009-12. Researcher, SISSA, Trieste
2007-09. Post-doctoral fellow. Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, Toronto

Education
- 19/2/07. PhD Neuroscienze (laude). SISSA
- Apr-Aug 2005. Study visit, ICN, UCL, London
- 20/6/03. Master degree in Psichology (cum laude). Padova Univ.

Prizes (sel.)
• 2017. SIPF prize, Roma
• 2011. Bertelson Award ESCOP
• 2011. TOYP Award Research, JCI

Grants (sel.)
• 2020-2023: Young Researchers project FINAGE, Italian Ministry of Health (co-PI).
• 2013-18: ERC Starting Grant LEX-MEA. GA 313692


Conference organization
28-30/9/2017. Cognitive Neuroscience of Executive Functions, Padova.

Invited talks (sel.)
4/05/20. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting (virtual), Boston
28/01/19. Institute for Psychology, Würzburg Univ., Germany
13/03/18. 60th Conf. Exp Psychologists, Marburg, Germany
17/11/17. Keynote Lecture SIPF prize. Rome
21/10/17. Ten years of Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento. CIMeC, Italy
11/08/17. Universidad de Costarica, San José, Costa Rica.
8/05/14. Escan conf., Dortmund, Germany
25/01/13. European Workshop in Cognitive Neuropsychology, Brixen
11/5/12. IV Dubrovnik Conference on Cognitive Science
29/2/12. CNRS, Lione 12/1/2012. Jagiellonian University, Cracovia
30/9/11. Bertelson Award Keynote Lecture, ESCOP, San Sebastian
18/3/10. Carleton University, Ottawa
28/9/09. SiNAPSA Neuroscience Conference, Ljubljana
11-12/6/09. The human frontal lobes and the mind. Univ. of Toronto

Supervision/Co-superv.: > 60 among post-docs, Phd, grad. students, trainees.

Evaluation activity
• Internat. grants: NSERC, Canada; Romanian NCDI; FET and MSCA actions; OPUS–NSC, Poland.
• Editorial Board: Frontiers in Psychol (Associate Ed.); BioMed Research Intern (Action Ed.); J Educ Develop Psychol
• Ad-hoc rev.: Plos Biol; Brain; Neurosci Biobehav R; Cereb Cortex; Neuroimage; Human Brain Mapping; J Cogn Neurosci; Cortex; Cognition etc.
• PhD thesis: Pompeu-Fabra; Granada; SISSA-Trieste; Roma Foro Italico; Pavia, Roma Sapienza.

Notices

My main research areas include: executive functions, hemispheric asymmetries, cognitive aging, anatomo-functional organization of frontal lobes, spatial and temporal attention, role of life experiences in shaping cognitive functioning. The main methods we use to investigate these research topics include: Neuroimaging, electroencephalography Event-related potentials, Neuropsychology, neuromodulation and experimental psychology.

Office hours

  • Thursday from 12:30 to 14:30
    at Dip. Neuroscienze, via Giustiniani 5, Padova (Unità Neurologia); Dep. Neuroscience, Via Giustiniani 5, Padova (Neurology Unit).
    Consiglio di prendere appuntamento in anticipo per email prima di presentarsi (antonino.vallesi@unipd.it). I advise students to write me an email well in advance before showing up (antonino.vallesi@unipd.it). The student reception could also be exceptionally held through Zoom or Skype platforms (after an email agreement).

Publications

Selected Publications:
- Alberti F., Menardi A., Margulies D., Vallesi A (2025). Understanding the link between functional profiles and intelligence through dimensionality reduction and graph analysis. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70149
- Forte V., Sartori L., Visalli A., … Vallesi A. (2025) Neural plasticity in early potters: Shape analysis and TMS-EEG co-registration trace the rise of a new motor skill. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316545
- Bellin, I., Menardi, A., … Corbetta, M., Vallesi, A. (2025). Advanced disconnectomic analyses reveal repetition pathways in a case of mixed transcortical aphasia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106257
- Viviani G., Visalli A., Montefinese M., Vallesi A., Ambrosini E. (2024). Tango of Control: The Interplay Between Proactive and Reactive Control. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001585
- Menardi, A., Spoa, M., Vallesi, A. (2024). Brain Topology Underlying Executive Functions Across the Lifespan: Focus on the Default Mode Network. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1441584
- Visalli A., Ambrosini E., … Vallesi A. (2023). On the relationship between emotions and cognitive control: Evidence from an observational study on emotional priming Stroop task. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294957
- Viviani G., Vallesi A. (2021). EEG-neurofeedback and executive function enhancement in healthy adults: a systematic-review. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13874
- Ambrosini E., Vallesi A. (2016) Asymmetry in Prefrontal Resting-state EEG Spectral Power Underlies Individual Differences in Phasic and Sustained Cognitive Control. Neuroimage. 124(1), 843–857.

Research Area

My main research areas include: executive functions, cognitive aging, functional hemispheric asymmetries, frontal lobes, spatial and temporal attention, influence of life experiences and professions on cognitive processes and underlying neural mechanisms.
The main methods we use include Neuroimaging, Event-related potentials, neuropsychology, experimental psychology, neuromodulation.

Thesis proposals

Specific topics for the thesis may change depending on the period.

Some possible Topics: High-level cognitive processes (executive functions), hemispheric asymmetries, cognitive aging, relationship between functional connectivity and cognitive performance in healthy and pathological conditions (e.g., MCI, neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric disorders).
New: Thesis on systematic review or meta-analysis about neuroplasticity topics, such as the impact of life experiences such as profession (e.g., sommelier, musician, programmer...) on the cognitive system and the brain (including the structural and functional connectome).

Methods: Experimental Psychology, EEG/ERP, fMRI & neuroimaging in general, Neuropsychology, Neuromodulation (depending on the ongoing research), systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Description of the ideal thesis student: the ideal student who is the best match for my supervision style takes their role in the thesis project very seriously. They are knowledgeable both technically (statistically and theoretically) and practically (please take advantage of the various research-oriented, hands-on classes offered at Unipd and elsewhere on topics like statistics, programming/coding, neuroscientific techniques, bibliographic search, etc.). The ideal mentee is also proactive, motivated, and eager to understand the theory behind the proposed research activity with a critical mindset, while remaining respectful.

Note: I advise master's candidates potentially interested in working with me to send their complete CV (including both completed exams and exams still to be taken), along with a motivation letter explaining why they would like to work in my lab, and their request for supervision via email in advance. Additionally, please avoid asking about potential research projects too early, relative to the time when you are truly available to effectively and intensively work on your thesis. Lastly, please refrain from requesting me to be your thesis supervisor if you are simultaneously approaching multiple other professors. Kindly wait for their responses first.