The Cognitive Neuroscience Section

The Cognitive Neuroscience Section (CNS) is a research group headed by Professor Carlo Miniussi, based at the "San Giovanni di Dio" hospital in Brescia, Northern Italy and at the University of Brescia. The institute "San Giovanni di Dio" (St John of God) is a national centre for research and care of Alzheimer's and Psychiatric disorders, owned by the Fatebenefratelli Friars (Lombardy Veneto Province Hospitaller Order of St John of God, The Brothers of St John of God). The Institute is operating since 120 years and has been appointed and funded as national centre of excellence in research and care (i.e., IRCCS) by the Italian Ministry of Health since 1996. Professionals operating in the clinical division include qualified medical staff, such as neurologists, geriatricians and psychiatrists together with professional nurses, psychologists and educationists. More than 4500 patients with Alzheimer's Dementia or associated disorders and about 1700 patients with psychiatric diseases are treated each year. The research division, besides the Cognitive Neuroscience Section, includes the laboratories of Genetic, Neuropsychopharmacology, Neurobiology, Proteomic, Neuroimaging, Ethic and Epidemiology and employs about fifty professional researchers. The yearly scientific production is more than 60 authoritative scientific papers, all published in international journals with an overall impact factor of 300 points.

The Cognitive Neuroscience Section includes the Laboratory of Neurophysiology and the Laboratory of Neuropsychology (headed by Dr Maria Cotelli). The general objective of our research is to understand the human brain mechanisms that support cognition and neuroplasticity, through the use of non-invasive techniques which allow to monitor the brain at work. Principally we study behavioral responses and brain activity in healthy adults during the execution of psychological tasks, designed to evaluate cognitive functions such as perception, learning, memory and language.

 

Funding
Funding for the research in the  Cognitive Neuroscience Section has come from from Italian Health Ministry.“Ricerca Corrente and Ricerca Finalizzata"; Associazione Fatebenefratelli Ricerca (AFaR) and James S. McDonnell Foundation (JSMF).