I recently get interested in Predictive Coding models of the brain in the framework of emotional processing and psychopathological conditions. I am interested in developing models that include multiple, hierarchically arranged brain-body variables (e.g., sensory, physiological, interoceptive), and study quantitatively how these variables interact over time; how they are dynamically weighted; if a specific variable or dynamical state of the system might work as a "marker" of psychopathological conditions (eg., anxiety disorders) that could be possibly used for screening and prevention; and if ways of restoring the correct system dynamics can be found to be used as treatments.
Publications on this topic:
Barca, L., Candidi, M., Lancia, GL. Maglianella, V., Pezzulo, G.. (in press). Mapping the mental space of emotional concepts through kinematic measures of decision uncertainty. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0615
Tschantz, A., Barca, L., Maisto, D., Buckley, C.L., Seth, A.K., Pezzulo, G. (2022). Simulating homeostatic, allostatic and goal-directed forms of interoceptive control using Active Inference. Biological Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108266
Maisto, D., Barca, L., Van den Bergh, O., Pezzulo, G. (2021). Perception and misperception of bodily symptoms from an Active Inference perspective: Modelling the case of panic disorder. Psychological Review,128(4), 690–710. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000290
Yu, A.A.N., Iodice, P., Pezzulo, G., Barca, L. (2021). Bodily Information and Top-Down Affective Priming Jointly Affect the Processing of Fearful Faces. Frontiers in Psychology, 12:625986.doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.625986
Barca, L., Pezzulo, G. (2020). Interoceptive inference in Anorexia Nervosa. Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 20, 427-440.
Pezzulo G., Barca L., Maisto D., Donnarumma F. (2020). Social epistemic actions. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 43, e113
Pezzulo, G., Maisto, D., Barca, L., Van den Bergh, O. (2019). Symptom perception from a predictive coding perspective. Clinical Psychology in Europe , 1 (4), 1-14
Pezzulo, G., Maisto, D., Barca, L., & Van den Bergh, O. (2019, December 2). Perception and misperception of bodily symptoms from an Active Inference perspective: Modelling the case of panic disorder. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/dywfs
Iodice, P., Porciello, G., Barca, L., Bufalari, I., Pezzulo, G. (2019). An interoceptive illusion of effort. PNAS, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1821032116
Pezzulo, G., Barca,L., Chausse, P., Monceau, S., Mermillod, M. (2018). The embodiment of fear: Emotional congruent body-state facilitates expressive face recognition. Scientifc Reports, 8, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18761-5
Iodice, P., Calluso, C., Barca, L., Bertollo, M., Ripari, P., Pezzulo, G. (2017). Fatigue increases the perception of future effort during decision making. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 33, 140-150
Pezzulo, G., Barca, L., Friston, K. (2014). Active inference and cognitive-emotional interactions in the brain. Behavioral and Brain Sciences Commentary Invitation