Updates

First Major Results from CTRL-ALT-DEV: How Children Learn to Flex Their Minds

Date: January 22 2026
Journal: Scientific Reports (Special Issue: Cognitive control across the lifespan)

I am thrilled to announce the submission of one of the first major empirical papers from the CTRL-ALT-DEV project: "Developmental Trajectories of Executive and Semantic Flexibility Using Task-Switching." This work gets to the very heart of the questions driving my MSCA fellowship.

Read the Preprint Here: DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7968947/v1

The Challenge: How Does a Child's Brain Learn to Switch Gears?

Flexibility is a cornerstone of intelligence. But how does a child learn to switch gears not just between simple rules (like sorting by color vs. shape), but between abstract meanings? For instance, how do they learn to think of a "piano" as both "something that makes music" and "something heavy to move"?

This study directly compares these two abilities:

Executive Flexibility: The domain-general ability to switch between tasks or rules.
Semantic Flexibility: The domain-specific ability to switch between different conceptual features of the same object.

The Discovery: Mapping the Arc of Flexibility

Using a task-switching paradigm with children, we mapped the developmental arc of these two critical skills. Our results provide some of the first concrete evidence for how these abilities develop in tandem, yet at different rates, directly addressing the core questions of the CTRL-ALT-DEV project.

From Padova to Pennsylvania: The Outgoing Phase Begins

Date: 25 November 2025
Location: Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, USA

The CTRL-ALT-DEV project has officially crossed the Atlantic.

I have now settled into my new home for the next two years: Harrisburg University (UNIHA). This marks the beginning of the outgoing phase of my MSCA Global Fellowship, where I will be working closely with Prof. Erin Buchanan and her team.

The Mission: Hard Skills & Big Data

While my time in Italy was focused on the neuroscientific foundations of semantic control, my mission here in Harrisburg is focused on computational rigor. Over the coming months, I will be refining the gamified battery for our cross-linguistic study and mastering Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and advanced R programming to handle the large-scale data we are set to collect. Transitioning into a STEM-focused environment like Harrisburg University is the perfect catalyst for the "ALT" part of CTRL-ALT-DEV, altering and expanding the way we model the developing mind.

Cultural Anchors

Moving an entire life and a research project across an ocean is no small feat. While I am excited to embrace the American academic culture, I haven’t come alone.

My new office features a few "essential" reminders of Italy, mementos from friends, family, and colleagues at University of Padova. These aren't just decorations; they are reminders of the community that supports this work. Research is a global endeavor, but it is built on local, personal foundations.

New Invited Commentary Accepted in BBS: Proposing the "Engine" of Human Adaptation

Date: October 4, 2025
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS)

I am thrilled to share that our invited commentary, "The Mind’s Compass: Semantic control as the guiding mechanism of affordance management," has been accepted for publication in Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

The Argument: Pillars Need a Pilot

In their target article, Ko & Neuberg (2025) propose a powerful framework for how humans manage "affordances"—the opportunities and risks the environment offers us across our lifespan. However, we argue that their three pillars (perception, behavior, and environment) are missing a central guidance system.

Our proposition: That guidance system is Semantic Control.

Without the ability to flexibly retrieve and manipulate conceptual knowledge, the "affordances" of the world are blind. A "noisy bar" only becomes a "mating arena" or a "place to avoid" because semantic control allows us to reframe its meaning based on our current goals. We argue that semantic control is the neurocognitive "how" behind human adaptation.

The CTRL-ALT-DEV Connection

This commentary provides the high-level theoretical justification for my MSCA project, CTRL-ALT-DEV.

If semantic control is indeed the "compass" for navigating life-stage challenges (like shifting from "kin as support" in childhood to "kin as alloparenting resource" in adulthood), then we must understand how this compass is calibrated during the most critical period of development: childhood.

The maturation of the control network in the brain isn't just a biological milestone—it is the prerequisite for a child’s ability to successfully navigate and restructure their social and digital world. My work in the CTRL-ALT-DEV project aims to map this exact developmental trajectory.

Read the full commentary here: OSF Link: The Mind's Compass

Project Update: CTRL-ALT-DEV Launches at Science 4 All (Padova)

Date: September 28, 2025
Location: University of Padova, Italy

How does a child’s brain decide what matters in a world of digital noise?
This weekend, we officially introduced the CTRL-ALT-DEV project to the public during the Science 4 All festival in Padova. It was a perfect testing ground for the questions at the heart of my MSCA Global Postdoctoral Fellowship: How do Semantic Control and Executive Functions emerge and diverge during childhood?

The Challenge: Navigating the "New Normal"

We live in an era of information overload. For adults, filtering out irrelevant data is hard; for children, whose prefrontal cortices are still maturing, it is a monumental task. My research aims to map the developmental trajectories of the brain's "internal traffic controllers." To explain these complex cognitive mechanisms to parents and children, we used the very tools we are developing for the project: gamified assessment.

Why This Matters

Science 4 All reminded us that this isn't just theoretical. By understanding how children develop these control systems, we can: 1) Identify early markers for developmental delays; 2) Build better educational tools for a digital-first world; 3) Bridge the gap between "what we know" (Semantic Memory) and "how we use it" (Semantic Control).

What’s Next?

The CTRL-ALT-DEV journey is just beginning. I am thrilled to be working with the INMIND group and my mentors, Prof. Silvia Benavides-Varela (University of Padova) and Prof. Erin Buchanan (Harrisburg University), to push the boundaries of developmental cognitive neuroscience.

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