Il Computational Neuroengineering Laboratory studia l'elaborazione dell'informazione nel sistema nervoso.
Nel nostro laboratorio combiniamo i metodi delle Neuroscienze Computazionali - l'analisi dell'informazione e la decodifica di segnali neurali biologici ed artificiali, le simulazioni di reti neuronali - con l'approccio applicativo dell'Ingegneria Biomedica e della Neuro Robotica. Per sviluppare interfacce neurali efficienti, infatti, è necessario capire come estrarre l'informazione dal sistema nervoso. A sua volta le interfacce possono essere usate per testare modelli di circuiti neurali. Inoltre, svelare come il sistema nervoso codifica le informazioni dal mondo esterno è un passaggio fondamentale nello sviluppo di software/hardware biomimetici per il data processing.
Studi teorici sull'origine e l'interpretazione dei segnali neurali, sulla trasmissione dell'informazione, e sul comportamento delle reti neurali, sono quindi condotti nel nostro laboratorio nella prospettiva di fornire applicazioni biorobotiche per la clinica che vanno dalla ricostruzione artificiale dei cinque sensi ai disturbi cognitivi.

La nostra attività di ricerca include l'analisi delle disfunzioni nei circuiti neurali all'origine di varie malattie. In particolare, studiamo il legame tra il sistema nervoso autonomo e i disturbi metabolici, e tra i gangli della base e i disturbi neurodegenerativi. Lavoriamo inoltre all'analisi delle dinamiche comportamentali e neurali per lo sviluppo di neuroprotesi per gli arti superiori e inferiori. Recentemente abbiamo sviluppato infine modelli neurali in grado di riprodurre la transizione sonno/veglia nel talamo, e di determinare i fattori sinaptici e morfologici che originano il segnale extracellulare.

Responsabile Scientifico

Prof. Alberto Mazzoni    
e-mail: alberto.mazzoni@santannapisa.it

Research team

Assistant Professors
Dr. Nicolò Meneghetti

PhD Students
Lorenzo Gaetano Amato
Laura Caffi
Salvatore Falciglia
Federico Fattorini
Rita Habib
Fabio Taddeini

Research Assistants
Dr. Michael Lassi

Alumni
Mahboubeh Ahmadipour
Federica Barberi
Marina Cracchiolo
Lorenzo Fruzzetti
Ahmet Kaymak
Elena Manferlotti
Federico Micheli
Sahana Prasanna
Elena Hilary Rondoni
Udaya Bhaskar Rongala
Matteo Saponati
Alberto Vergani
Matteo Vissani

Progetti

• FRESCO FOUNDATION RESEARCH GRANT - assessing the role of Deep Brain Stimulation and the effects of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in speech degradation in Parkinson's Disease;
• GENTE – Gamma ENtrainment against Tumor Expansion. Investigating the role of visual stimulation to counteract the progression of glioblastoma. Fondo di Beneficenza Intesa San Paolo
• PROTECTION: interplay between visual cortex spontaneous and induced activity and glioma progression. Progetto di Ricerca di Interesse Nazionale (PRIN)
• PREVIEW: predicting the probability of evolution from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer's disease with EEG analysis. Bando Salute Regione Toscana
• ONDA - Origin of Neural Dysfunctions of Upper Limb in a Mouse Model of Parkinson Disease. Fondo di Beneficenza Intesa San Paolo

Pubblicazioni selezionate e recenti

Consulta la lista completa delle pubblicazioni  

Malattia di Parkinson

• Ahmadipour M, Fattorini F, Meneghetti N, Mazzoni A, In silico model of basal ganglia deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease captures range of effective parameters for pathological beta power suppression, PLOS Computational Biology (2026)
• Falciglia S, Caffi L, Baiata C, Palmisano C, Isaias IU, Mazzoni A, Transformer-based long-term predictor of subthalamic beta activity in Parkinson’s disease, npj Parkinson's Disease (2025)
• Minetti A*, Montagni E*, Meneghetti N*, Macchi F, Coulomb É, Martello A, Tiberi A, Capsoni S, Mazzoni A, Mascaro A.L.A., Spalletti C, Parkinsonism disrupts cortical function by dysregulating oscillatory, network and synaptic activity of parvalbumin positive interneurons, npj Parkinson's Disease (2025)
• Taddeini F, Ordali E, Govoni A, Piattellini F, Valente S, Caremani L,Vergani A A, Kaymak A, Rustichini A, Russo E, Rapallini C, Ramat S, Mazzoni A, Dopaminergic therapy disrupts decision-making in impulsive-compulsive Parkinsonian patients, Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology (2025)
• Gambosi B, Jamal Sheiban F, Biasizzo M, Antonietti A, D’Angelo E, Mazzoni A, Pedrocchi A, A model with dopamine depletion in basal ganglia and cerebellum predicts changes in thalamocortical beta oscillations, International Journal of Neural Systems (2024)
• Caffi L, Romito LM, Palmisano C, Aloia V, Arlotti M, Rossi L, Marceglia S, Priori A, Eleopra R, Levi V, Mazzoni A, Isaias IU, Adaptive versus conventional deep brain stimulation: one-year subthalamic recordings and clinical monitoring in a patient with Parkinson’s disease, Bioengineering (2024)
• Isaias IU, Caffi L, Borellini L, Ampollini AM, Locatelli M, Pezzoli G, Mazzoni A, Palmisano C, Case report: Improvement of gait with adaptive deep brain stimulation in a patient with Parkinson’s disease, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (2024)
• Ortone A, Vergani AA, Ahmadipour M, Mannella R, Mazzoni A, Dopamine depletion leads to pathological synchronization of distinct basal ganglia loops in the beta band, PLOS Computational Biology (2023)
• Avantaggiato F, Farokhniaee AA, Bandini A, Palmisano C, Hanafi I, et al., Intelligibility of speech in Parkinson's disease relies on anatomically segregated subthalamic beta oscillations, Neurobiology of Disease (2023)
• Fasano A, Mazzoni A, Falotico E, Reaching and grasping movements in Parkinson’s disease: a review, Journal of Parkinson’s Disease (2022)
• Vissani M, Palmisano C, Volkmann J, Pezzoli G, Micera S, Isaias UI*, Mazzoni A*, Impaired reach-to-grasp kinematics in parkinsonian patients relates to dopamine-dependent, subthalamic beta bursts, npj Parkinson’s Disease (2021)
• Micheli F, Vissani M, Pecchioli G, Terenzi F, Ramat S, Mazzoni A, Impulsivity markers in parkinsonian subthalamic single-unit activity, Movement Disorders (2021)
• Canessa A, Palmisano C, Isaias UI, Mazzoni A, Gait-related frequency modulation of beta oscillatory activity in the subthalamic nucleus of parkinsonian patients, Brain Stimulation (2020)
• Vissani M, Isaias UI, Mazzoni A, Deep brain stimulation: a review of the open neural engineering challenges, Journal of Neural Engineering (2020)

Altri disordini del movimento

• Romito LM, Telese R, Kaymak A, Colucci F, Elia AE, Rinaldo S, Devigili G, Cilia R, Zorzi G, Mazzoni A, Leta V, Zech M, Carecchio M, Garavaglia B, Levi V, Andreasi NG, Eleopra R, Sex-related differences in the short and long-term outcome of internal pallidus stimulation for dystonia, Neurological Sciences (2026)
• Svorenova T, Romito LM, Kaymak A, Mulroy E, Cif L, Moro E, et al., Deep Brain Stimulation for VPS16-Related Dystonia: A Multicenter Study, Annals of Neurology (2025)
• Ahmadipour M, Romito LM, Elia AE, Andreasi NG, Eleopra R, Mazzoni A, Colucci F, Genetic Profile and Symptom Pattern Explain Variability of Deep Brain Stimulation Effect in Dystonia, Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology (2025)
• Kaymak A, Colucci F, Ahmadipour M, Andreasi NG, Rinaldo S, Israel Z, et al., Spiking patterns in the globus pallidus highlight convergent neural dynamics across diverse genetic dystonia syndromes, Annals of Neurology (2025)
• Kaymak A, Romito LM, Colucci F, Andreasi NG, Telese R, Rinaldo S, et al., Genetic Etiology Influences the Low-Frequency Components of Globus Pallidus Internus Electrophysiology in Dystonia, European Journal of Neurology (2025)
• Kaymak A, Vissani M, Lenge M, Melani F, Fino E, Cappelletto P, et al., Patterns of neural activity and clinical outcomes in a juvenile Huntington’s disease patient undergoing deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus, Deep Brain Stimulation, (2023)
• Vissani M., Cordella R., Micera S., Eleopra R., Romito L.*, Mazzoni A.*, Spatio-temporal structure of single neuron subthalamic activity identifies DBS target for anesthetized Tourette syndrome patients, Journal of Neural Engineering (2019)

Neuroingegneria

• Meneghetti, N., Lassi, M., Massa, V., Micera, S., Mazzoni, A., Alia, C., Bandini, A. (2025). Post-stroke spontaneous motor recovery in mice can be predicted from acute-phase local field potential using machine learning. APL bioengineering, (2025).
• Vissani M, Palmisano C, Volkmann J, Pezzoli G, Micera S, Isaias UI*, Mazzoni A*, Impaired reach-to-grasp kinematics in parkinsonian patients relates to dopamine-dependent, subthalamic beta bursts, npj Parkinson’s Disease (2021);
• Cracchiolo C, Ottaviani MM, Panarese A, Strauss I, Vallone F, Mazzoni A*, Micera S*, Bioelectronic medicine for the autonomic nervous system: clinical applications and perspectives, Journal of Neural Engineering (2021);
• Micheli F, Vissani M, Pecchioli G, Terenzi F, Ramat S, Mazzoni A, Impulsivity markers in parkinsonian subthalamic single-unit activity, Movement Disorders (2021);
• Canessa A, Palmisano C, Isaias UI, Mazzoni A, Gait-related frequency modulation of beta oscillatory activity in the subthalamic nucleus of parkinsonian patients, Brain Stimulation (2020);
• Vissani M, Isaias UI, Mazzoni A, Deep brain stimulation: a review of the open neural engineering challenges, Journal of Neural Engineering (2020);
• Meneghetti N, Dedola F, Gavryusev V, Sancataldo G, Turrini L, de Vito G, Tiso N, Vanzi F, Carpaneto J, Cutrone A, Pavone FS, Micera S, Mazzoni A, Direct activation of zebrafish neurons by ultrasonic stimulation revealed by whole CNS calcium imaging, Journal of Neural Engineering (2020);
• Cracchiolo M, Valle G, Petrini FM, Strauss I, Granata G, Stieglitz T, Rossini PM,  Raspopovic S, Mazzoni A, Micera S, Decoding of grasping tasks from intraneural recordings in trans-radial amputee, Journal of Neural Engineering (2020);
• Dedola F, Ulloa Severino FP, Meneghetti N, Lemaire T, Cafarelli A, Ricotti L, Menciassi A, Cutrone A, Micera S, Mazzoni A, Ultrasound stimulations induce prolonged depolarization and fast action potentials in leech neurons, IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology (2020);
• Vissani M., Cordella R., Micera S., Eleopra R., Romito L., Mazzoni A., Spatio-temporal structure of single neuron subthalamic activity identifies DBS target for anesthetized Tourette Syndrome patients, Journal of Neural Engineering (2019);
• D’Anna E., Valle G., Mazzoni A., Strauss I., Iberite F., Patton J., Petrini FM, Raspopovic S., Granata G., Di Iorio R., Controzzi M., Cipriani C., Stieglitz T., Rossini PM., Micera S., A closed-loop hand prosthesis with simultaneous intraneural tactile and position feedback, Science Robotics 4:27 eaau8892 (2019);
• Valle G., Mazzoni A., Iberite F., D’Anna E., Strauss I., Granata G., Controzzi M., Clemente F., Rognini G., Cipriani C., Stieglitz T., Petrini FM., Rossini PM., Micera S., Biomimetic Intraneural Sensory Feedback Enhances Sensation Naturalness, Tactile Sensitivity, and Manual Dexterity in a Bidirectional Prosthesis, NEURON 37-45 1 :100 (2018);
• Mazzoni A., Rosa M., Carpaneto J., Romito LM., Priori P., Micera S., Subthalamic neural activity patterns anticipate economic risk decisions in gambling, eNeuro. 0366-17.2017 (2018).

Modelli di rete

• N Meneghetti, AE Rimehaug, GT Einevoll, A Mazzoni, TV Ness, Kernel-based LFP estimation in detailed large-scale spiking network model of mouse visual cortex, Neural Networks (2025)
• Romeni S, Valle G, Mazzoni A, Micera S., Tutorial: a computational framework for the design and optimization of peripheral neural interfaces, Nature Protocols (2020);
• Saponati M., Garcia-Ojalvo J., Cataldo E., Mazzoni A., Integrate-and-Fire Network Model of Activity Propagation from Thalamus to Cortex, Biosystems 183: 103978 (2019);
• Stellino F., Mazzoni A., Storace M., Phase analysis methods for burst onset prediction, Physical Review E 95 (2), 022412 (2017);
• Barardi A, Garcia-Ojalvo J, Mazzoni A.,Transition between Functional Regimes in an Integrate-And-Fire Network Model of the Thalamus, PLoS ONE 11(9) e0161934 (2016);
• Mazzoni A., Lindén H., Cuntz H., Lansner A., Panzeri S., Einevoll GT., Computing the Local Field Potential (LFP) from Integrate-and-Fire network models, PLoS Comp Biol 11 e1004584 (2015).