Events

Date: 18 March 2026   Time: 15:00 - 16:00     

Location: Engineering G2

Abstract:

Our sensory landscape features a multitude of semi-periodic input streams: there are temporal regularities in speech and music, as well as in bodily physiological activity. The brain displays (semi-)rhythmic patterns of activity, too: from (sensory-driven?) low-frequency oscillations in the delta-theta (1-8Hz) ranges, to (endogenous?) higher-frequency activity in the alpha (8-12Hz) and beta-gamma (12-100Hz) ranges.
In this study, we aimed at characterizing intra- and inter-individual variability in (i) body-brain- behavioral (BBB) rhythms, (ii) coupling dynamics across scales, and (iii) their influence on sensory processing and action coordination.
For doing so, we recorded BBB activity by employing a combination of smart wearable technologies (fitness tracker, mobile EEG, smart glasses) while 50 participants engaged in a series of tasks ranging from resting state and listening tasks (simple and complex auditory sequences), to spontaneous behaviors (tapping, speaking and walking).
Preliminary results suggest that (semi-)periodic activity in pupil dilation, breathing, walking, cardiac signals, tapping, saccadic movements, speaking and individual alpha may form a cross- frequency architecture characterized by a lognormal distribution. Although less (simple and) predictable than a harmonic distribution [1], such stochastic pattern better accommodates complex cognitive phenomena such as our sense of time, space and memory [2] . Secondly, decoding approaches suggest that sensory processing may fluctuate between intero- and exteroceptive input streams during listening tasks [3,4]: i.e., the brain seems to dynamically switch to tune to either cardiac or auditory input over time, thus demanding to reconsider our conceptualization of attention and its dynamics.
While the project is currently ongoing, preliminary observations promise to advance our understanding of how complex body-brain interactions shape information processing and behavior.
References:
[1] Klimesch, W. The frequency architecture of brain and brain body oscillations: an analysis. European Journal of Neuroscience 48, 2431–2453 (2018).
[2] Buzsáki, G. Time, space, memory and brain–body rhythms. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2025 27:1 27, 61–78 (2025).
[3] Criscuolo, A., Czepiel, A., Schwartze, M. & Kotz, S. A. A body-brain (dis)equilibrium regulating transitions from health to pathology. Phys. Life Rev.https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PLREV.2025.07.003 (2025) doi:10.1016/J.PLREV.2025.07.003.
[4] Criscuolo, A., Schwartze, M. & Kotz, S. A. Cognition through the lens of a body–brain dynamic system. Trends Neurosci. doi.org/10.1016/J.TINS.2022.06.004(2022) doi:10.1016/J.TINS.2022.06.004.

Bio:

The journey
Antonio was born and raised in the sun and blue of the Amalfi Coast, in southern Italy. He is originally from Salerno, where he studied music and bassoon and graduated at the Conservatory in 2013. In 2017, Antonio obtained his BSc degree in (Experimental) Psychology at the University of Bologna (IT); in 2019 obtained a Research Master's degree in Cognitive Neuroscience at Maastricht University (NL), and later his PhD diploma in 2024. In his academic journey, Antonio has been a visiting researcher at the center for Music in the Brain (Aarhus, Denmark; 2017), at the Oxford center for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford (Oxford, United Kingdon; 2019) and at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (Frankfurt, Germany).
Academic profile and expertise
Antonio has been performing basic (i.e., healthy young and aging subjects), comparative (i.e., primates and humans), and translational (i.e., stroke patients with lesions in the Cerebellum and Basal Ganglia; Parkinson's patients) research investigating inter-individual variability in the neural mechanisms of auditory, time and multisensory (i.e., audio- visual; audio-tactile) processing.
Combining state-of-the art neurophysiology methods (e.g., magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG), as well as wearable EEG) with newly developed analytical approaches, Antonio sought to characterize the neural dynamics underpinning the capacities to encode, predict and synchronize sensorimotor systems with sensory events in the acoustic environment.
In a second research line, Antonio has been exploring the modulatory role of body-brain physiological interactions on neurocognitive functions: he performed experimental work and systematic literature reviews formulating novel frameworks for how respiratory, cardiac, and other bodily signals may influence neural activity and information processing from health to pathology, consequently impacting how we perceive the sensory world and act in it.
Research grants, and activities
Antonio's research has been funded by small-scale grant schemes (e.g., KNAW, NWO), private investors (i.e., venture capital), recognized by international bodies (e.g., Italian Society for Psychophysiology and Neuroscience), and presented at >10 international conferences and research labs world-wide.
Next to research, Antonio has been teaching, supervising MSc and PhD students, and coordinating scientific initiatives (e.g., research days, seminars, workshops and public outreach events) across Europe. In 2023, Antonio founded 'Body-Brain Waves' (waves-conference.com), a series of conferences, summer schools, workshops, and science dissemination activities focusing on the role of body-brain interactions in cognition.