Projects
Here below is a list of the studies which are currently being run in the lab. We are always looking for volunteers to take part. If you are interested in taking part to any of the studies, please visit the take part to a study page where more information about each study is provided.
The effect of self-focused attention on tactile misperception
This Ph.D. focuses on body perception and Eating Disorders (EDs). Specifically, the aim of the project is to analyse proprioception, exteroception and multisensory integration in the context of EDs. The first part of this Ph.D. consists of two behavioural studies on healthy subjects with different levels of subclinical ED symptoms. The goal of these studies is to investigate the elaboration and integration of visual, tactile and proprioceptive information when attention to the bodily self is manipulated. During the second part, this Ph.D. will investigate the neural correlates of body misperception using a non-invasive brain stimulation technique. Lastly, this Ph.D. will test somatosensory processes in a sample of ED patients before and after a treatment program that involves visual inspection of the body with the aim to inform future treatment protocols.
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Supervisors: Dr Laura Mirams, Dr Valentina Cazzato and Prof Francis McGlone
Self-body knowledge in Young and Middle-aged women
The risk of disordered eating found among young women persists well into mid-life. In the UK there have been recent, dramatic increases in the use of weight-loss pills, smoking to suppress appetite and cosmetic surgery among mid-life women, all of which have adverse and long-lasting impacts upon their physical and psychological quality of life. The main aim of this project is to examine similarities and differences between Young and Middle-age women regarding their body image concerns and what psychological and societal factors might impact on women' well-being.
External Collaborator: Prof. Piers Cornelissen, Northumbria University, UK
The effect of hunger on human body shape appreciation
The purpose of this project is to examine eventual differences in aesthetic judgements of bodies, objects, and faces in relation to appetite regulation and hunger. We are also interested in examining potential sex differences and whether visual aesthetic body processing in the two sexes rely on variations of participants’ body mass index (BMI) and body image concerns such as body dissatisfaction, perception of disgust, which are crucially associated with Eating Disorders.
Motor Resonance as an implicit measure of bias
Previous research has shown that neuronal activity in the motor cortex, the part of the brain controlling any movements in our bodies, is also critical for the understanding of observed familiar actions, such as reaching and grasping an object. We are currently investigating by means of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques how this contribution of the motor brain areas to the simulation of observed actions can be modulated by certain bias, such as gender, race and physical similarity (slim, overweight). Furthermore, this evidence could also contribute to the better understanding of negative attitudes towards social groups.
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External Collaborator: Dr Stergios Makris, Edge Hill University, UK
Key Collaborators
Dr Stergios Makris (Edge Hill University, UK)
Prof Cosimo Urgesi (University of Udine, Italy)
Prof Piers Cornelissen (Northumbria University, UK)
Prof Carmelo Mario Vicario (University of Messina, Italy)
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