Stefano Grasso

“Premotor Coding of Dyadic Motor Plans during Cooperative Behavior in Macaques" 

Stefano Grasso is a Postdoctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology “Vittorio Erspamer”, where he recently received his PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience. During these years, he has been investigating the neuronal correlates of motor control and decision-making during social interactions in non-human primates. Using a combination of behavioral and neurophysiological approaches, including Local Field Potentials and Single Unit recordings, he examined the neural mechanisms underlying planning and execution of interpersonal coordination, as well as the evaluation of costs and benefits of cooperation.

Simone Maucci

“Evidence for positional and relational codes of serial order in verbal Working Memory: an fMRI study”

Simone Maucci is a PhD student in Experimental Psychology at Ghent University, under the supervision of Professors Wim Fias and Steve Majerus. He holds a Master’s degree in Neuroscience and Neuropsychological rehabilitation from the University of Padua. From his bachelor studies, he has been fascinated by how the brain represents abstract information, such as numerical concepts; this curiosity now directly guides his doctoral research. His PhD project investigates how the brain represents and maintains serial order information during Working Memory tasks, using behavioral methods, fMRI, and TMS to clarify the neural mechanisms underlying these processes and ultimately inspire research in applied and clinical contexts