Orsola Rosa Salva

Habilitated to associate professorship in General Psychology and Psychobiology (Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale, II fascia, E11 – Psicologia Generale e Psicobiologia, 05/11/2018).

March 2010: On the 30th March 2010 discuss her PhD thesis titled: “Early predispositions for social stimuli: the case of face perception. Perceptual properties underling face preferences in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus)”.

March 2008-May 2008: Spend three months at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive  Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, studying and conducting research under the supervision of Prof. Mark Johnson. Research conducted involves investigation of the neural basis of early social competences in human infants.

Jan 2007- Dec 2009: PhD program in perception and psychophysics (under the supervision of Prof. Lucia Regolin) at the General Psychology Department, University of Padova. 

Sep 2004- June 2006: Advanced degree in Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology (110 cum laude / 110) Faculty of Psychology, Padova University, Italy.
Thesis: "Lateralisation in the response to gaze direction in chicks".

Sep 2001-Sep 2004: First degree in Psychobiology and Cognitive Psychology (110 cum laude / 110) Faculty of Psychology, Padova University, Italy.
Thesis: Neural Basis of orienting processes in the delayed response task in the domestic chick: Use of spatial and local cues (Original title: "Basi psicobiologiche dei processi di orientamento nel compito di risposta ritardata in Gallus Gallus: Uso di indizi spaziali ed oggettuali").

My main research interest is the comparative investigation of the early cognitive and perceptual abilities that guide the behaviour of young organisms, allowing them to learn effectively from the environment.

Within this frame, I investigate how inborn predispositions that orient young animals (and babies) towards animate agents can guide the action of subsequent social learning mechanisms and drive the specialisation of brain circuits for the processing of social stimuli. Likewise, I also investigate how basic learning and abstraction mechanisms allow young animals to develop flexible representation of the properties of objects/events. Along similar lines, one of my long-term research interests has always been the development of cerebral lateralisation. In some animal species, the emergence of lateralisation is guided by the interaction of genetic and environmental influences, acting at specific time points of the prenatal development. This allows to study how innate and experience drive factors interact to determine the behavioural and neural phenotype of each individual, with cascading consequences for cognitive performance.

My main animal model of interest is the domestic chick, which allows to study behavioural responses and brain activation in visually naive subjects or in subjects whose visual experience (and degree of lateralization) has been artificially manipulated. Most of my studies on domestic chicks, however, are conducted in a comparative perspective with respect to human newborns and infants. In some of my research I have also directly investigate the development of social competences of human babies, testing theories developed in domestic chicks. Finally, I am also conducting research in different fish species, in collaboration with Prof. Valeria Anna Sovrano, to investigate the presence of similarities in the fundamental perceptual mechanisms across phylogenetically distant species.

I am currently part of the team involved in the SPANUMBRA ERC advanced grant (PI Prof. Giorgio Vallortigara), studying lateralised spatial-numerical associations in domestic chicks and zebrafish. In the context of this grant, I am investigating the presence of behavioural and neural lateralisation in domestic chicks, which is one of my long-term research interests. Moreover, I am also investigating specific aspects of domestic chicks numerical competences, such as their abilities to abstract numerical information (e.g., generalising it between different sensory modalities).

One of my long-term, ongoing research activities is the investigations of domestic chicks’ early social predispositions for specific motion properties that characterise animate agents. Using visually naive domestic chicks and visual stimuli whose motion properties can be highly controlled, I study unlearned responses to the motion of animate agents, both moving in isolation and when involved in apparent social interactions.

Moreover, I also study the neural substrate of the already well-established social predispositions of this animal model. To do so, brain activity is analised by staining the transcription factor c-Fos with a immunohistochemical procedure. In a related research line, I am also collaborating with Dr. Elisa Di Giorgio to record indexes of early visual attention for social stimuli in newborn infants at high risk for autism (NIDA network, PI Dr. Maria Luisa Scattoni).

I have also used different learning paradigms (based on operant conditioning or filial imprinting) to investigate how young domestic chicks extract and generalise the regularities that characterise their visual environment. In this line of research I  investigate how immature nervous systems perform the so called ‘statistical learning’ and ‘rule learning’ tasks. These fundamental learning and abstraction processes allow an organism to predict events based on recurring environmental regularities and to generalise this learning.

Finally, in collaboration with Prof. Valeria Anna Sovrano, I investigate visual illusory perception and visual learning in different fish species.

Since 2022, member of the Società Italiana Etologia (Italian Society of Ethology)

Habilitated to associate professorship in General Psychology and Psychobiology (Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale, II fascia, E11 – Psicologia Generale e Psicobiologia, 05/11/2018).

2018 - Young Researcher UniTn Starting Grant. Awarded by the University of Trento, after a competitive selection. The grant is directed to young researchers who aim to apply to competitive international grants, in order to increase their success rate. The grant covers research, travel, publication and networking expenses to support young researchers in their future grant applications (15000 euros).

2018 - Poster prize awarded at Avian Cognitive Neuroscience forum, 5-6 April 2018 Bochum, Germany. Poster title: “Innate social predispositions for animate motion in newly-hatched chicks (Gallus gallus)”.

Rosa-Salva O., Hernik M., Lemaire B.S., Zanon M., Lorenzi E., Vallortigara G. (2024). Visually naïve chicks are sensitive to motion patterns of agent interactions. Talk given at the Budapest CEU Conference of Cognitive Development, 4-6 January 2024, Budapest (Hungary).

Rosa-Salva O. (2023). Refinement in cognitive neuroscience studies with domestic chickens. Online IPAM (Italian Platform on Alternative Methods) invited talk, 12 October.

Rosa-Salva O. (2023). Naïve chicks show a preference for non-predictable reciprocal movements in animate agents. Behaviour 2023 ASAB Summer Conference, 14-20 August, Bielefeld, Germany.

Rosa-Salva O., Lemaire B.S., Zanon M., Lorenzi E., Vallortigara G. (2023). Naïve chicks show a preference for non-predictable reciprocal movements in animate agents. Rovereto Workshop on Cognition and Evolution – CogEvo, 6-7 July.

Rosa-Salva O., Lemaire B.S., Zanon M., Hernik M., Vallortigara G. (2022). Visually naïve domestic chicks as a model to study inborn recognition of animate agents. Talk given at the XXX National Congress of the Italian Society of Psychology (AIP), 27-30 September, Padova. 

Eccher E., Rosa-Salva O., Vallortigara G. (2022). A study on numerical auditory imprinting and cross-modal matching in domestic chicks. XXIX Convegno della Società Italiana di Etologia, 12-14 September, Padova . 

Rosa-Salva O., Lemaire B.S., Zanon M., Hernik M., Vallortigara G. (2022). Inborn recognition of animate agents in domestic chicks. XXIX Convegno della Società Italiana di Etologia, 12-14 September, Padova. 

Ferrara G., Lemaire B.S., RuganiR., Regolin L., Rosa-Salva O., Vallortigara G. (2022). Extraction of regularities on the above/spatial distribution of sets of different numerosity. European Student Conference on Behaviour and Cognition, 1 - 3 September, Rovereto.

Di Giorgio, E., Rosa-Salva, O., Scattoni, M.L., NIDA-NETWORK, Simion, F., & Vallortigara, G. (2018). Developmental trajectories of visual attention for social stimuli in newborns and infants at high-risk for autism. BrainView Conference (ETADE), 20-21 September, London.

Rosa-Salva O., Hernik M., Broseghin A., Vallortigara G. (2018). Innate social predispositions for animate motion in newly-hatched chicks (Gallus gallus). Poster presented at the Avian Cognitive Neuroscience Forum, 5-6 April 2018 Bochum (Germany). Awarded the poster prize as best poster.

Rosa-Salva O. (2018). Social predispositions for animate motion and their neural correlates in a visually naive animal model. Talk given at the Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development, 4 - 6 January 2018, Budapest (Hungary).

Rosa-Salva O. (2017). Social predispositions for animate motion and their neural correlates in newly-hatched naive chicks. Invited talk given at the International Symposium on Neuroscience in the Perspectives of Different Disciplines 5 - 6 October, Akdeniz University, Antalya (Turkey).

Rosa-Salva O. (2014). The domestic chick as an animal model of early social predisposition. Talk given at International Congress of Neuroethology, 28 July -1 August, Sapporo (Japan).

Di Giorgio, E., Frasnelli, E., Rosa Salva, O., Vallortigara, G. (2014). Discovering the social world: insights from chicks, typical newborns and newborns at high-risk for autism. Talk given at the International Conferece Non Invasive Tools for early Detection of Autistic Spectrum Disorders 16-17 October, Rome.

Rosa Salva O. (2014). The domestic chick as an animal model of early social predisposition. Talk given at International Congress of Neuroethology, Sapporo 28 July -1 August 2014.

Regolin L., Rugani R., Rosa Salva O. (2014). The larger shall be on the right side. Domestic chicks are better at identifying larger sets when these are located to the right side. International Conference of Infant Studies, Berlin, 3-5 July 2014.

Rosa Salva, O., Lorenzi E., Grassi M., Regolin L., Vallortigara G. (2014). Unlearned Social Preferences in Visually Naïve Chicks. International Conferente of Infant Studies, Berlino (Germania), 3-5 luglio 2014.

Mayer U., Rosa Salva O., Vallortigara G (2014). Unlearned social predisposition in chicks and their neural correlates as revealed by immediate early gene expression. International Conference of Infant Studies, Berlin, 3-5 July 2014.

Rosa Salva O., Lorenzi E., Grassi M., Regolin L., Vallortigara G. (2014). Unlearned Social Preferences in Visually Naïve Chicks. International Conference of Infant Studies, Berlin, 3-5 July 2014.

Rosa Salva O. (2013). Biological predispositions in social cognition (talk). Von Menschen und Tieren. Implikatione und Konsequenze eines Verhältnisses. Erste internationale biophilosophische Schule Kassel im Rahmen des DAAD Programms “Hochschuldialog mit Südeuropa 2013”, Kassel (Germany) 12-14 November 2013.

Santolin C., Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2013) “ABA vs AAB”: do chicks extract the rule? 3rd ToK Conference of CompCog, Wien (Austria) 3-5 July 2013.

Rosa Salva O., Lorenzi E., Grassi M., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2013) A comparative study of the motion cues to animacy. 3rd ToK Conference of CompCog, Wien (Austria) 3-5 July 2013.

Santolin C, Sartori D, Rosa Salva O, Regolin L. & Vallortigara G (2013) Abilities of sequence learning and rule learning: experimental evidence in newborn chicks (Gallus gallus). Workshop on Infant Language Development, Donostia San Sebastian (Spain), 20-22 June 2013.

Sartori D, Santolin C, Rosa Salva O, Regolin L. & Vallortigara G (2013) Learning abstract rules in an animal model (Gallus gallus): experimental evidence in social and non‐social contexts. Workshop on Concepts Actions and Objects, Functional and Neural Perspectives, Rovereto, 23-26 May 2013.

O. Rosa Salva, C. Santolin, L. Regolin, G. Vallortigara (2013) Rule learning in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus). Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development, Budapest, 10-12 January 2013.

Santolin C., Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2012). Rule learning in an animal model (Gallus gallus). 3nd Workshop on Cognition and Evolution, Rovereto (Italy) 28 June – 1 July 2012.

Corazza F., Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2012). Investigation of Navon effect in domestic chicks based on an imprinting procedure. 3nd Workshop on Cognition and Evolution, Rovereto (Italy) 28 June – 1 July 2012.

Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2012). The study of early face preferences in an animal model, the domestic chick (Gallus gallus). XVIII Biennial International Conference on Infant Studies, Minneapolis (Minnesota), 7-9 June 2012.

Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2012). Processing of hierarchical visual stimuli in young domestic chicks. XVIII Biennial International Conference on Infant Studies, Minneapolis (Minnesota), 7-9 June 2012.

Santolin C., Rosa Salva O., Regoli L. & Vallortigara G. (2012). Sequence learning in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus). ASAB Easter Conference 2012 “Animal Behaviour”, Aberystwyth University (United Kingdom) 11-13 April 2012.

Rosa Salva O. & Vallortigara G. (2011). Predisposizioni per il riconoscimento degli oggetti animati ed il loro ruolo nello sviluppo della personificazione. Persona Ficta, Seminario Internazionale della Scuola di Dottorato in Studi Letterari, Linguistici e Filologici, Trento (Italy) 1-2 December 2011.

Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2011). A comparative perspective for the study of early face preferences: Domestic chicks as an animal model (talk). European Social Cognition Network 2, Sligo (Ireland), 24-28 August 2011. Abstract book page 34.

Cavazzana A., Rosa Salva O., Rugani R. & Regolin L. (2011). Holistic perception of visual configurations in young domestic chicks. Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Summer Conference, St. Andrews (Scotland), 18-19 August 2011.

Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2011). Perceptual properties influencing the preference for face-like stimuli in domestic chicks: role of contrast polarity. 2nd ToK Conference of CompCog, Prague (Czech Republic), 25-28 May 2011. Abstract book page 19, poster 5.

Cavazzana A., Rugani R., Rosa Salva O. & Regolin L. (2011). Global Processing of visual configurations in domestic chicks. 2nd ToK Conference of CompCog, Prague (Czech Republic), 25-28 May 2011. Abstract book page 18, poster 2.

Rosa Salva O., Lanzoni L., Cavazzana A., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2011). Tests of global-local processing styles in young domestic chicks. Workshop on Concepts Actions and Objects, Functional and Neural Perspectives, Rovereto (Italy), 19 – 22 May 2011.

Vallortigara G. & Rosa Salva O. (2011). I volti sono speciali. Solo per noi? (talk). I lati del volto, Venezia 17-18 January, 2011.

Rosa Salva O. & Regolin L (2010). The controversial nature of logic: issues in transitive inference studies (talk). 3rd DAAD Autumn School, Delmenhorst (Germany) 20 – 24 September 2010.

Rosa Salva O. (2010). Effects of contrast polarity reversal in newborn chicks' face preferences. 3rd DAAD Autumn School, Delmenhorst (Germany) 20 – 24 September 2010.

Normando S., Mollo A., Rosa Salva O. & Regolin L. (2010). A face preference study in lambs (Ovis aries). V European Conference on Behavioural Biology, Ferrara (Italy) 16 – 18 July 2010, Conference Abstracts, p. 133.

Rosa Salva O. Daisley JN., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2010). Lateralization and time corse of social learning in chicks. V European Conference on Behavioural Biology, Ferrara (Italy) 16 – 18 July 2010, Conference Abstracts, p. 143.

Cavazzana A., Rosa Salva O., Rugani R., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2010). Are chicks sensitive to the Ebbinghaus illusion? 2nd Workshop on Cognition and Evolution, Rovereto (Italy) 17-20 June 2010.

Rosa Salva O., Orso V., Scardellato G., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2010). Effects of contrast polarity reversal in newborn chicks’ face preferences. 2nd Workshop on Cognition and Evolution, Rovereto (Italy) 17-20 June 2010.

Regolin L., Rosa Salva O. & Vallortigara G. (2010). Preference for faces in domestic chicks: role of contrast polarity. XVII International Conference on Infant Studies, Baltimore (USA) 10-14 March 2010.

Rosa Salva O. (2009). Of chickens and faces: A comparative study on spontaneous face preferences (talk). DAAD Autumn School, Neurocognition: Foundations and Clinical Processes, Izmir (Turkey) 12-14 October 2009.

Rosa-Salva O., Farroni T., Regolin L.,Vallortigara G. & Johnson M.H. (2009). A comparative study on spontaneous face preferences (talk). British Psychological Scociety 2009 Annual Developmental Psychology Conference, Nottingham (United Kingdom), 9–11 September 2009. British Psychological Scociety 2009 Annual Developmental Psychology Conference Abstracts, p. 70.

Rosa-Salva O., Matterello T., Xodo E., Regolin L., Farroni T. e Vallortigara G. (2009). Chickens, babies and faces. 31st International Ethological Conference, Rennes (France), 19–24 August 2009. 31st International Ethological Conference Abstracts, p 391.

Regolin L., Daisley J.N., Raveane S., Rosa-Salva O. & Vallortigara G. (2009). Time dependent lateralization of social learning in the domestic chick. 31st International Ethological Conference, Rennes (France), 19–24 August 2009. 31st International Ethological Conference Abstracts, p. 381.

Raveane S., Daisley J.N., Rosa-Salva O., Vallortigara G. & Regolin L. (2009). Time related lateralization of social learning in the domestic chick (Gallus gallus). Workshop on Cognition and Evolution, Rovereto (Italy), 11-13 June 2009.

Xodo E., Mattarello T., Rosa Salva O., Regolin L., Farroni T, Johnson M.H. & Vallortigara G. (2009). Converging evidence of face preferences in newborn babies and visually deprived domestic chicks. Workshop on Cognition and Evolution, Rovereto (Italy), 11-13 June 2009.

Rosa Salva O., Xodo E., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2009). Of chickens and faces. Workshop on Concepts Actions and Objects, Functional and Neural Perspectives, Rovereto (Italy), 22-25 April 2009.

Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. e Vallortigara G. (2009). Innate preferences for face like stimuli in chicks. Talk presented at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Germany), 19 March 2009.

Rosa Salva O. & Matterello T. (2008). Predispositions for the analysis of biological objects (conducts round table). DAAD Autumn School, Montegrotto, Padova (Italy), 18-20 October 2008.

Rosa Salva O. (2008). Facing a face. DAAD Autumn School, Neurocognition: Foundations and Clinical Processes, Montegrotto, Padova (Italy), 18-20 October 2008.

Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2008). Newborn chicks’ preference for face-like configurations: Underlying mechanisms and lateralization effects. 37th European Conference on Visual Perception, Utrecht (Netherlands), 24-28 August 2008. Perception, 37 ECVP Abstract Supplement, p. 34. 

Attendance to the congress Le Neuroscienze cognitive in Italia, Padova (Italy), 31st January 2008.

Attendance to the congress La Coscienza nelle Scienze Cognitive, Roma (Italy), 6-7 December 2007.

Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2007). Naïve domestic chicks prefer schematic face-like configurations. Graduate Workshop “Cockroaches to culture: current controversies in cognition”, Trieste (Italy), 24-25 November 2007.

Rosa Salva O., Regolin, L. & Vallortigara G. (2007). Innate preference for face-like stimuli (talk). 15th Trieste Symposium on Perception and Cognition: Kanizsa Memorial Lecture. Trieste (Italy), 22-23 November 2007.

Rosa Salva O., Romor C. & Regolin L (2007). Preference for face-like stimuli in an animal model. 39th European Brain and Behaviuor Society, Trieste (Italy), 15-19 September 2007. Neuronal Plasticity, 2007, 39th Annual European Brain and Behaviour Society Abstracts,  p. 12

Daisley JN., Rosa Salva O., Vallortigara G. & Regolin L.  (2007). Lateralization of social learning in the domesti chick (Gallus gallus): learning to avoid. 39th European Brain and Behaviuor Society, Trieste (Italy), 15-19 September 2007. Neuronal Plasticity, 2007, 39th Annual European Brain and Behaviour Society Abstracts, p. 10.

Rosa Salva O. & Regolin L. (2007). Spontaneous preference for face-like displays in newborn chicks. 30th European Conference on Visual Perception, Arezzo (Italy), 27-31 August 2007. Perception, 36 ECVP Abstract Supplement, p. 153.

Daisley J.N., Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G.  (2007). Lateralization of social learning in the domesti chick (Gallus gallus). 30th European Conference on Visual Perception, Arezzo (Italy), 27-31 August 2007. Perception, 36 ECVP Abstract Supplement, p. 185.

Rosa Salva O. (2007). Il pulcino di pollo domestico come modello animale per lo studio della cognizione sociale (talk). 1° Convegno Nazionale dei Dottorati in Scienze Cognitive, Messina-Noto (Italy), 6-8 June 2007. Congress pre-prints, p. 20.

Daisley J.N., Rosa Salva O. & Regolin L. (2007). Lateralization of social cognition in the domestic chick. 1st ECDBNL (Evolution and Development of Cognitive, Behavioural and Neural Lateralization) Project Meeting, Chieti (Italy), 31 May–1 June 2007.

Rosa Salva O. & Regolin L. (2007). Right hemispheric dominance for responding to a predator’s gaze in the young domestic chick. 5th European conference of Comparative Neurobiology, Parigi (France), 25-28 April 2007. ECCN Abstracts P 58, p. 123.

Rosa Salva O., Fracasso A., & Regolin L. (2006). Uso preferenziale dell’emisfero destro nella risposta allo sguardo in pulcini di pollo domestico. 22° National Congress of the Società Italiana di Etologia, Erice (Italy), 18-22 September 2006. SIE Abstracts, Abstr. PO6-CAN, p. 88.

Rosa Salva O., Fracasso A., & Regolin L. (2006). Brain lateralisation in chicks’ ability to discriminate gaze direction of a potential predator while performing in a pebble-floor feeding task. 5th Forum of European Neuroscience, Vienna (Austria), 8-12 July 2006. FENS Forum Abstracts, vol. 3, Abstr. A055.34.

Rugani R., Rosa Salva O., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2006). Visibility and response delay selectively affect search behaviour of social vs non-social goal objects in the young domestic chick. 12th Trieste Symposium on Perception and Cognition, Kanizsa Lecture, Trieste (Italy), 17-18 November 2005.

Attendance to the II World Conference, The Future of Science - Evolution, Venice (Italy), 20-23 September 2006.

Rosa Salva O., Rugani R., Regolin L. & Vallortigara G. (2005). Looking for food vs looking for social companion: Visibility and response delay selectively affect behaviour in the young domestic chick (Gallus gallus). 29th International Ethological Conference, Budapest (Hungary), 20-27 August 2005. IEC Abstracts, Abstr. p. 187.

Attendance to the Italian Society of Ethology Annual Meeting (SIE), Padova (Italy), 15-17 September 2004

Consulting Editor for the Journal Laterality.

Editorial board member for Frontiers in Psychology.

Ad-hoc reviewer for the for the following journals: Philosophical Transactions B,   Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Animal Behaviour, Animal Cognition, Infancy, Scientific Reports, Behavioural Processes, Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, Laterality, Frontiers in Psychology, Peer J, Italian Journal of Psychology, PLOS One.

Organizer and Speaker, seminar “Criteria for the evaluation and approval of ethical permits for Research Projects employing lab animals“, (Criteri di valutazione e di approvazione nella sottomissione di un Progetto di Ricerca che utilizza animali da laboratorio), 13 October 2021, Rovereto, Italy.

Organizer and Teacher, in the online training course “Corso base teorico per svolgere le funzioni A, B, C e D per topo (Mus musculus), ratto (Rattus norvegicus), pesci (Danio rerio, Oryzias latipes, Xenotoca eiseni, Taxotes jaculatrix, Astyanax mexicanus e Phreatichthys andruzzii), Xenopus (Xenopus spp) e pollo domestico (Gallus gallus domesticus) secondo il D.M. 5 Agosto 2021“ (and organization of the ancillary practical course). This course is part of the mandatory training required by the current European and Italian regulations on animal welfare, for all personnel involved in animal experimentation.

Organizing Scientific Committee, The Brain and Ideas Workshop, 4 December 2014, Rovereto (Italy).

Habilitation to associate professorship in General Psychology and Psychobiology (Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale, II fascia, E11 – Psicologia Generale e Psicobiologia, 05/11/2018).