NeuroMetrics

Research lines of the group documented by publications in the period 2021-2025

Our interdisciplinary group stems from a bridge between psychometrics and neuroscience, aiming to develop a unified framework for understanding, modelling, and measuring human cognition and behaviour.

We investigate the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying adaptive and maladaptive processes - such as reward-based learning, motivation, and decision-making - by employing cutting-edge multimodal neuroscientific data collection (e.g., EEG, TMS/tDCS, psychophysiology) with a critical application of advanced inferential statistical models(Bayesian inference, informative hypothesis testing, and computational modelling). This allows us to precisely model the relationship between latent cognitive constructs and observed neuro-bio-behavioral data, which constitutes the basis to develop and validate neuro-informed psychometric tools.

This interdisciplinary line not only refines the measurement of cognitive and affective processes but also enhances our ability to detect individual differences and identify neuro-behavioral markers of vulnerability (e.g., to addictive and compulsive conduct) in clinical and non-clinical populations, with the ultimate goal of developing statistically sound, neuro-informed models of behavior. Moreover, we directly address the current replicability crisis and champion Open Science best practices by focusing on rigorous estimation and transparent data modelling.

Head: Sara Garofalo

ERC sectors:

SH4 The Human Mind and Its Complexity: Cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, education 

• SH4_2 Human life-span development  
• SH4_3 Neuropsychology  
• SH4_4 Cognitive and experimental psychology: perception, action, and higher cognitive processes 

LS5 Neurosciences and Neural Disorders: Neurobiology, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, neuropharmacology, neuroimaging, systems neuroscience, neurological and psychiatric disorders  

• LS5_4 Sensory systems (e.g. visual system, auditory system)
• LS5_7 Cognition (e.g. learning, memory, emotions, speech)
• LS5_8 Behavioural neuroscience (e.g. sleep, consciousness, handedness)
• LS5_12 Psychiatric disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)

Academic Discipline (SSD): PSIC-01/B e PSIC-01/C

Selected publications of the group for the period 2021-2025

• Degni, L., Danti, C., Finotti, G., di Pellegrino, G., & Garofalo, S. (2025). Pavlovian bias instigates suboptimal choices in humans. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 104906, ISSN 0005-7967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2025.104906• Orsoni, M., Spinoso, M., Garofalo, S., … et al. (2025). Bayesian networks to evaluate and test the Raven’s colored progressive matrices. Intelligence, 113, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2025.101964

• Degni, L. A. E., & Garofalo, S. (2025). Toward a Translational Model of Sex-Associated Pavlovian Phenotypes. In Addiction Biology (Vol. 30, Issue 6). John Wiley and Sons Inc. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.70054• Orsoni, M., Giovagnoli, S., Garofalo, S., Mazzoni, N., Spinoso, M., & Benassi, M. (2025). Comparing factor mixture modeling and conditional Gaussian mixture variational autoencoders for cognitive profile clustering. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1474292. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1474292

• Finotti, G., Degni, L. A. E., Badioli, M., Dalbagno, D., Starita, F., Bardi, L., … Garofalo, S. (2024). Cortical beta power reflects the influence of Pavlovian cues on human decision-making. The Journal of Neuroscience, (February), e0414242024. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0414-24.2024

• Garofalo S., Finotti G., Orsoni M., Giovagnoli S., Benassi M. (2024). Testing Bayesian Informative Hypotheses in 5 steps with R and JASP. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459241260259 *

• Badioli, M., Degni, L., Dalbagno, D., Danti, C., Starita, F., di Pellegrino, G., Benassi, M., & Garofalo, S. (2024). Unraveling the influence of Pavlovian cues on decision-making: a pre-registered meta-analysis on Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105829

• de Chiusole, D., Spinoso, M., Anselmi, P., Bacherini, A., Balboni, G., Mazzoni, N., Brancaccio, A., Epifania, O.M., Orsoni, M., Giovagnoli, S., Garofalo, S., Benassi, M., Robusto, E., Stefanutti, L., Pierluigi, Irene Pierluigi, I. (2024). PsycAssist: A Web-Based Artificial Intelligence System Designed for Adaptive Neuropsychological Assessment and Training. Brain Sciences, 14(2), 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14020122  

• Orsoni, M., Giovagnoli, S., Garofalo, S., Magri, S., Benvenuti, M., Mazzoni, E., & Benassi, M. (2023). Preliminary evidence on machine learning approaches for clusterizing students’ cognitive profile. Heliyon, 9(3), e14506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14506

• Degni L. A. E., Dalbagno D., Starita F., Benassi M., di Pellegrino G., & Garofalo S. (2022). General Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer in humans: Evidence from Bayesian inference. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.945503

• Garofalo S., Giovagnoli S., Orsoni M., Starita F. & Benassi M. (2022) Interaction effect: Are you doing the right thing? PLoS ONE 17(7): e0271668. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271668

• Garofalo S., Degni L. A. E., Sellitto M., Braghittoni D., Starita F., Giovagnoli S., di Pellegrino G., & Benassi M. (2022). Unifying Evidence on Delay Discounting: Open Task, Analysis Tutorial, and Normative Data from an Italian Sample. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(4), 2049. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042049

• Benassi M., Frattini D., Garofalo S., Bolzani R., and Pansell T. (2021), Visuo-motor integration, vision perception and attention in mTBI patients. Preliminary findings PLoS ONE 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250598

Unibo Research laboratories and centres

• Psychometrics and Neuropsychology Laboratory
• Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience

Funding for the period 2021-2025

Active National and International Collaborations documented by publications/ funding/ scientific agreements for the period 2021-2025

International collaborations

• Dr. Rebecca Kuiper, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
• Prof. Dr. Herbert Hoijtink, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
• Prof. Angela Sirigu, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, France
• Prof. Valeria Gazzola, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, The Netherlands
• Prof. Trevor Robbins, Dept. of Psychology, University of Cambridge (UK)
• Dr. Graham Murray, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge (UK)
• Prof. Martin E. Maier, University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (DE)
• Dr Pansell and Dr Hellgren, Karolinska Institutet

National collaborations

• Prof. Gianluca Baldassarre, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
• Dr. Sonia Betti, Università di Padova
• Prof. Giovanni Mirabella, Università degli Studi di Brescia
• Dr. Rosa Santangelo, Unità di Psichiatria SPDC, Ausl Romagna Unibo collaboration
• Prof. Mauro Ursino, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Energia Elettrica e dell'Informazione
• Prof. Elisa Magosso, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Energia Elettrica e dell'Informazione

Editorial activity

• Collabra: Psychology | Methods & Practices
• Peer Community In (PCI) | Registered Reports
• Peer Community In (PCI) | Neuro
• Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science (Psychological Science)
• Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
• Cognition and Emotion (Taylor & Francis)
• Biological Psychiatry (Elsevier)
• Frontiers in Psychology | Quantitative Psychology and Measurement• Cortex (Elsevier)
• Learning and Behavior (Springer)
• Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (Sage)• Scientific Reports (Nature)
• Behavioural Brain Research (Elsevier)