Education
  • Bachelor’s degree (BSc) in Information Technology and Computing awarded on 31/03/2004 by The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK with upper-second class honours. Final project title: ‘Musical genre classification of audio signals using neural networks’;
  • Master’s degree (MSc) in Science awarded on 31/12/2006 by The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK with distinction. Dissertation title: ‘Higher-order tensor, non-tensor and multi-compartmental models for diffusion imaging’;
  • Master’s degree (MSc) in Applied Cognitive Neuroscience awarded on 24/09/2008 by University of Westminster, London, UK with distinction. Dissertation title: ‘A multi-modal investigation of music perception with functional MRI (FMRI) and event-related potentials (ERPs): experiments on musical syntax and sensory consonance’;
  • Bachelor’s degree (BSc) in Physical Science awarded on 31/12/2009 by The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK with upper-second class honours. Final project title: ‘Localization of brain activity with electro- and magneto-encephalography (EEG/MEG): a critical review of physical foundations and models’;
  • Master’s degree (MSc) in Medical Physics awarded on 31/12/2009 by The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. Dissertation title: ‘Higher-order tensor, non-tensor and multi-compartmental models for diffusion imaging’;
  • Philosophy doctor (PhD) in Neuroscience awarded on 20/07/2012 by Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Falmer, UK. Thesis title ‘Multimodal analysis of the neural correlates of decision-making in the context of financial risk’, supervisor Prof. Hugo Critchley;
  • Doktor habilitowany (Dr. Hab.) in Physics awarded on 13/11/2017 by Institute of Nuclear Physics – Polish Academy of Science (IFJ-PAN), Kraków, Poland. Title of submitted body of works ‘Electronic networks of chaotic oscillators as physical models of some emergent phenomena in neural dynamics’, original title ‘Elektroniczne sieci chaotycznych oscylatorów jako fizyczne modele zjawisk emergentnych w dynamice neuronowej’.
Academic career and teaching activities

Jul 2016 - current | Center for Mind/Brain Science, University of Trento, Italy
Visiting researcher, Affiliate research fellow

Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Jun 2017 - current | Specially-appointed associate professor
Jul-Sep 2016 | Adjunct associate professor

Jun 2016 - Aug 2019 | Complex Systems Theory Department, Institute of Nuclear Physics – Polish Academy of Science (IFJ-PAN), Kraków, Poland
Visiting professor, Principal specialist

Apr-Jun 2016, Apr-Jun 2017 and Mar-Jun 2018 | Faculty of Computer Science, Free University of Bolzano, Italy
Freelance, contract lecturer

Jan 2014-Jun 2016 | MRLab, Center for Mind/Brain Science, University of Trento, Italy
Guest post-doctoral fellow, freelance researcher

“Carlo Besta” Neurological Institute-Foundation, Milan, Italy
Jun 2010-Feb 2012 | Collaborator, full-time research fellow and group leader
Feb 2012-Apr 2013 and May 2013-Jul 2015 | External collaborator, research fellow

Feb 2012-Dec 2013 | Neurology, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, UK
Research fellow, grade 8

Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
Jun 2010 - Feb 2012 – Collaborator, full-time research fellow and group leader
Feb 2012 - Apr 2013 - External collaborator

Jan 2009 - May 2010 | Psychiatry, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, UK
Full-time research fellow, grade 7

“Carlo Besta” Neurological Institute-Foundation, Milan, Italy
Feb 2005 - Jan 2008 – Freelance consultant
Feb 2008 - Jan 2009 – Collaborator, full-time research fellow

Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Jun 2017 - current | Specially-appointed associate professor
Jul-Sep 2016 | Adjunct associate professor

Jun 2016 - Aug 2019 | Complex Systems Theory Department, Institute of Nuclear Physics – Polish Academy of Science (IFJ-PAN), Kraków, Poland
Visiting professor, Principal specialist

Apr-Jun 2016, Apr-Jun 2017, Mar-Jun 2018, Jan-May 2019 | Faculty of Computer Science, Free University of Bolzano, Italy
Freelance, contract lecturer

Jan 2014-Jun 2016 | MRLab, Center for Mind/Brain Science, University of Trento, Italy
Guest post-doctoral fellow, freelance researcher

“Carlo Besta” Neurological Institute-Foundation, Milan, Italy
Jun 2010-Feb 2012 | Collaborator, full-time research fellow and group leader
Feb 2012-Apr 2013 and May 2013-Jul 2015 | External collaborator, research fellow

Feb 2012-Dec 2013 | Neurology, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, UK
Research fellow, grade 8

Jan 2009-May 2010 | Psychiatry, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, UK
Full-time research fellow, grade 7

Feb 2012 - Dec 2013 | Neurology, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, UK
Research fellow, grade 8

Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
Jun 2010 - Feb 2012 – Collaborator, full-time research fellow and group leader
Feb 2012 - Apr 2013 - External collaborator

Jan 2009 - May 2010 | Psychiatry, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, UK
Full-time research fellow, grade 7

“Carlo Besta” Neurological Institute-Foundation, Milan, Italy
Feb 2005 - Jan 2008 – Freelance consultant
Feb 2008 - Jan 2009 – Collaborator, full-time research fellow
Research interests

Please visit www.lminati.it for the most updated and complete description.

I am characterized by a strongly multidisciplinary background in physics, engineering and neuroscience, and I work at the interface between these disciplines.

My main research interest is currently how complex synchronization patterns and collective dynamics emerge in non-linear physical and neural systems. I approach this topic primarily by numerically and experimentally investigating diverse electronic circuits based on single transistors, amplifiers, field-programmable analog arrays (FPAAs), custom integrated circuits and gas-discharge tubes. I attempt to establish relationships with properties of neural activity recorded at the macro-scale (e.g., whole-brain functional MRI), meso-scale (e.g., neurons cultured on micro- arrays) and micro-scale (e.g., single neurons). I am particularly interested in the application of non-linear dynamical concepts to bio-inspired robotics, brain-machine interfaces and distributed systems.

Among my most recent publications, you will find work that demonstrates how key phenomena observed for the brain, such as emergence of a modular structure, connectivity-related phase transitions and emergence of complex topology of synchronization, can be readily recaptured even in very simple non-linear electronic networks, such as rings. On this website, you will find detailed information about the custom hardware designs, and access to the full experimental datasets. At present, my work focuses on the design of various non-linear electronic networks, mainly based on bipolar-transistor and field programmable analog-array (FPAA) circuits. Significant efforts are also being invested towards the development of custom data acquisition and signal processing equipment, for example to enable experiments on chaos control. Among recent studies, you will also find demonstration of the potential for non-linear electronic networks to generate motor patterns, recapitulating with great versatility emergent gaits and postures observed in insects.
Research work

Minati L, Ito H, Perinelli A, Ricci L, Faes L, Yoshimura N, Koike Y, Frasca M. Connectivity influences on nonlinear dynamics in weakly-synchronized networks: insights from Rössler systems, electronic chaotic oscillators, model and biological neurons. IEEE Access 2019; 7:174793-174821.  Go to full text

Karakaya B, Minati L, Gambuzza LV, Frasca M. Fading of remote synchronization in tree networks of Stuart-Landau oscillators. Phys Rev E. 2019; 99(5):052301. Go to full text

Minati L, Frasca M, Yoshimura N, Ricci L, Oświȩcimka P, Koike Y, Masu K, Ito H. Current-Starved Cross-Coupled CMOS Inverter Rings as Versatile Generators of Chaotic and Neural-Like Dynamics Over Multiple Frequency Decades. IEEE Access 2019; 7:54638-54657. Go to full text

Minati L, Yoshimura N, Frasca M, Drożdż S, Koike Y. Warped phase coherence: An empirical synchronization measure combining phase and amplitude information. Chaos 2019; 29:021102. Go to full text

Minati L, Frasca M, Giustolisi G, Oświȩcimka P, Drożdż S, Ricci L. High-dimensional dynamics in a single-transistor oscillator containing Feynman-Sierpiński resonators: Effect of fractal depth and irregularity. Chaos. 2018; 28:093112. Go to full text

Minati L. Across Neurons and Silicon: Some Experiments Regarding the Pervasiveness of Nonlinear Phenomena Acta Phys Pol B 2018; 49:2029. Go to full text

Minati L, Faes L, Frasca M, Oświȩcimka P, Drożdż S. Apparent remote synchronization of amplitudes: A demodulation and interference effect. Chaos. 2018; 28:063124. Go to full text

Scarpetta S, Apicella I, Minati L, de Candia A. Hysteresis, neural avalanches, and critical behavior near a first-order transition of a spiking neural network. Phys. Rev. E 2018; 97:062305. Go to full text

Minati L, Frasca M, Yoshimura N, Koike Y. Versatile locomotion control of a hexapod robot using a hierarchical network of non-linear oscillator circuits. IEEE Access 2018; 99:2799145. Go to full text

Minati L, Frasca M, Oświȩcimka P, Faes L, Drożdż S. Atypical transistor-based chaotic oscillators: Design, realization, and diversity. Chaos. 2017; 27(7):073113. Go to full text

Minati L, Winkel J, Bifone A, Oświęcimka P, Jovicich J. Self-similarity and quasi-idempotence in neural networks and related dynamical systems. Chaos. 2017; 27(4):043115. Go to full text

Minati L, de Candia A, Scarpetta S. Critical phenomena at a first-order phase transition in a lattice of glow lamps: Experimental findings and analogy to neural activity. Chaos. 2016; 26(7):073103. Go to full text

Minati L. Remote synchronization of amplitudes across an experimental ring of non-linear oscillators. Chaos 2015; 25(12):123107. Go to full text

Minati L. Experimental Implementation of Networked Chaotic Oscillators Based on Cross-Coupled Inverter Rings in a CMOS Integrated Circuit. J Circuit Syst Comp 2015; 24:1550144. Go to full text

Minati L, Chiesa P, Tabarelli D, D'Incerti L, Jovicich J. Synchronization, non-linear dynamics and low-frequency fluctuations: analogy between spontaneous brain activity and networked single-transistor chaotic oscillators. Chaos 2015; 25(3):033107. Go to full text

Minati L. Experimental synchronization of chaos in a large ring of mutually coupled single-transistor oscillators: phase, amplitude, and clustering effects. Chaos 2014; 24(4):043108. Go to full text

Minati L. Experimental dynamical characterization of five autonomous chaotic oscillators with tunable series resistance. Chaos 2014; 24(3):033110. Go to full text

Minati L. Emergence of chaos in transistor circuits evolved towards maximization of approximate signal entropy. 8th Intl Symp. Image and Signal Proc Analysis ISPA2013; 748-753. Go to full text
Other work

2019 – current, Editorial Board Member, Systems, MDPI, Switzerland
2019 – current, Guest Editor for the “Human-Centered Systems in Rehabilitation Engineering” Special Issue, Journal of Healthcare Engineering, Hindawi, UK
2019 – current, Reviewing Editor, Frontiers in Physiology, Switzerland
2018 – current, Associate Editor, Chaos Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, The Netherlands
2018 – current, Guest Editor of the “Simulation versus Experiment in Non-linear Dynamical Systems”, Special Issue, Chaos Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, The Netherlands
2018 – current, Associate Editor, IEEE Access , Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers, USA
2018 – current, Academic Editor, Complexity, Hindawi, UK
2018 – current, Editorial Board Member, Entropy, MDPI, Switzerland
2018 – current, Editorial Board Member, Applied System Innovation, MDPI, Switzerland
2018 – current, Guest Editor of the “Non-linear Devices, Systems, Networks and Their Applications” Special Issue, Applied System Innovation, MDPI, Switzerland
2014-2015, Associate Editor, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, IOS Press, The Netherlands
Attachments