The research activity of the Laboratory of Cognition and Motor Control is mainly focused on issues of perception and action control in healthy people and patients with neurological deficits. These are some of the main research projects.

Eye movements and autobiographical memory

It seems that our ability to remember autobiographical events of our past is in some way related to the planning and execution of eye movements. Research in this area aims to investigate the relationship between autobiographical memory, mental imagination and saccadic movements, in collaboration with David Pearson @ Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge (UK).

Motor control and cognitive functions in Parkinson's disease

Among the non-motor symptoms of patients with Parkinson's disease, cognitive disorders have been considered for years a secondary importance aspect. Research in this area aims to highlight the value of cognitive functions and their deficits in Parkinson’s patients through (1) the development of rehabilitation protocols, (2) the study of postural instability, and (3) freezing of gait. These studies are carried out in collaboration with Paolo Manganotti, director of the Neurological Clinic of the Cattinara Hospital in Trieste, and with Susanna Mezzarobba @ the University of Genoa. 

Emotions and action control

Classical theories postulate that emotions would automatically - that is, independently from subject’s current goals - activate some behavioural patterns (i.e. approach/avoidance), as emotional stimuli would be capable of biasing selective attention, prioritising their processing reflexively. Research in this area aims to show that this only happens if the processing of the emotional stimulus is task relevant. This line of research is carried out in collaboration with Giovanni Mirabella @ the University of Brescia.

Perceptual organisation and typography

Can we modify typographic variables to make text easy to read? The idea of change typographic variables to improve readability is not new. This problem has been, and is being addressed in the laboratory with studies on populations of individuals with dyslexia and not, in collaboration with Luciano Perondi and the University Institute of Architecture of Venice.