Stefania Bracci

2008-2011 PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience

Institution: School of Psychology and Sport Sciences, Northumbria University (UK)

Advisors: Prof. M Ietswaart (Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK) and Prof. C Cavina-Pratesi (Durham University, UK)

PhD Thesis title: Neural Correlates of Hand-Tool Interaction

2005-2007 MSc Neuropsychology and Cognitive Rehabilitation

Institution: Department of Psychology, Bologna University, Italy

Thesis Title: Impairments in tool use understanding after left hemisphere stroke (110 Summa Cum Laude).

Advisor: Prof. G di Pellegrino

2002-2005 BSc Psychology

Institution: Department of Psychology, Bologna University, Italy

Thesis Title: Rehabilitation of ocular exploration in Neglect patients (110 Summa Cum Laude)

Advisor: Prof. E Ladavas

ACADEMIC CAREER

2022 -       Principal Investigator (RTD-B) of the Object Vision group,  Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Italy.

2019 - 2022      Principal Investigator (RTD-A) of the Object Vision group,  Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Italy.

2016 - 2019    Research Fellow,  KU Leuven, Belgium.

2014 - 2016    Postdoctoral Fellow, KU Leuven, Belgium.

2011 - 2013    Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Italy.

CAREER BREAKS

07/2015-11/2015 Maternal leave (4 months)

08/2018-12/2018 Maternal leave (4 months)

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

2023-present Computational Modelling of Perception, CIMeC, Trento University, IT (course coordinator)

2022 Master di II livello Intelligenza Artificiale, Mente, Impresa, UNI Brescia, IT (1 module)

2020–present Advanced Hands-on fMRI Analysis, CIMeC, Trento University, IT (course coordinator)

2019–present Scientific Communication, CIMeC, Trento University, IT (course coordinator)

2019 Cognitive Neuroscience, Dipartimento di Psicologia e Scienze Cognitive, Trento University

2018 Human Brain Neuroimaging, Laboratory of Biological Psychology, KU Leuven, Belgium

Human fMRI;

MVPA;

DNNs;

Object representation and recognition;

Body representation;

Visual cortex organization.

We investigate what are the basic dimensions underlying the organization of object representations in the visual cortex combining behavioural experiments, neuroimaging data, and deep neural networks.

AD-HOC REVIEWER FOR SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS:

2010– present Ad hoc reviewer for:

PNAS, Nature Communications, iScience, Journal of Neuroscience, Cerebral Cortex, eLife, Cortex, PLOS CompBio, NeuroImage, Neuropsychologia, PLOS One, Visual Cognition, Experimental Brain Research, Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (workshop), Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuropsychology, Royal Society, and Visual Cognition.

REVIEWER IN SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES:

Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN)

MEMBERSHIPS IN SOCIETIES:

Visual Science Society (VSS)

Society for Neuroscience (SfN)

Organization of Human Brain Mapping (OHBM).

COMMISSIONS OF TRUST

2015                     Member of mid-term PhD committee of Farah Martens. KU Leuven, Belgium

2014-2017         Reviewer of MCs thesis (8 in total), KU Leuven, Belgium

GRANTS AND FUNDING

2017-2019          FWO research grant (Euros 40.000)

2016-2019          FWO postdoctoral fellowship by the Research Foundation (FWO) Flanders

VISITING SCHOLARSHIPS

2013: Department of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, China (Prof Y Bi, 4 months)                                         

2010: Center of Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Italy (Prof M Peelen, 10 months)

2007: School of Psychology, Bangor University, Wales, UK (Prof S Tipper, 7 months)

OTHER PRIZES/AWARDS

2013                 Abstract Award at CAOs Concepts, Actions, and Objects, Rovereto, Italy

2012                 Abstract Award at CAOs Concepts, Actions, and Objects, Rovereto, Italy

2011                 Elsevier/Vision Research Travel Award Winners; VSS, Florida, US

2011                 Brain Travel Grant to attend VSS, Vision Sciences Society, Florida, US

2010                 Travel Award Winners at CAOs, Rovereto, Italy

2010                 Brain Travel Grant to attend VSS, Vision Sciences Society, Florida, US

2009                 Brain Travel Grant to attend the XXVII European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology, Bressanone, Italy

2008                 Grindley Grant to attend the workshop CAOs, Rovereto, Italy

2008                 PhD grant by Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

2007                 Studentship (Bologna University) for a research internship at Bangor University, UK

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

2024 Bracci S Workshop Oral Presentation The Adaptive Mind – Germany (June 2024)

2024 Cortinovis D & Bracci S. Conference Oral Presentation TEAP – Germany (Feb 2024)

2023 Bracci S. The role of Behavioral goals in shaping object representations in the two visual pathways. Conference Oral Presentation VSS – Florida, US

2022 Bracci S, Mraz J, Zeman A, Leys G and Op de Beeck H. The hierarchical representational geometry in human and artificial visual systems in the presence of object-scene regularities. European Conference of Visual Perception, ECVP, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

2021 Bracci S. Is domain-specific specialisation a valuable principle to explain the visual cortex functional organisation? Austral University (online).

2021 Bracci S. Domain-specific specialization is a valuable principle to explain the visual cortex functional organization: Converging results from cognitive and computational neuroscience. UC Louvain, Belgium, June 2021 (online),

2021 Bracci S. The functional organization of the visual cortex: the role of hand-object interactions.HandMade Worskshop, Rome, Italy.

2021 Bracci S. The effect of object-scene associations upon representational similarity dissociates structured from image-based representations. Vision Sciences Society, VSS, Florida (online).

2020 Bracci S. Investigating dimensions underlying object representations in human high-level visual cortex. Regensburg University, Germany.

2020 Bracci S. Object-body interactions influence the representation of objects in visual cortex. Plenary talk at EWCN , Bressanone, Italy.

2018 Bracci S, Kalfas I, and Op de Beeck H. Object appearance, but not semantics, is represented in the human category-selective cortex. VSS, Vision Sciences Society, Florida.

2017 Bracci S, Kalfas I, and Op de Beeck H. Object appearance, but not semantics, is represented in the human category-selective cortex. ECVP, Berlin.

2016 Bracci S, Daniels N, and Op de Beeck H. Task Context Overrules Object- and Category-Related Representational Content in the Human Parietal Cortex. SFN Society for Neuroscience, San Diego (US).

2015 Bracci S, and Op de Beeck. Dissociations and associations between shape and category representations in the two visual pathways. BAPS Belgian Association for Psychological Sciences, Brussels.

2015 Bracci S, and Op de Beeck. Dissociations and associations between shape and category representations in the two visual pathways. VSS Vision Sciences Society. Naples, Florida (US).

2014 Bracci S, and Peelen MV and Caramazza. How is the body (and its parts) represented in visual cortex? Organization of Human Brain Mapping, OHBM. Hamburg, Germany (DE).

2013 Bracci S, and Peelen MV. Body-extending object effectors:
Organization of ventral stream object representations reflects body-object interactions. VSS Vision Sciences Society. Naples, Florida (US).

2011 Bracci S, Cavina-Pratesi C, Ietswaart M, Caramazza A and Peelen MV. The functional organization of hand and tool responses in visual cortex reflects the organization of downstream action networks. ECVP, 34th European Conference on Visual Perception. Toulouse, France.

2011 Bracci S, Cavina-Pratesi C, Ietswaart M, Caramazza A and Peelen MV. Closely overlapping responses to tools and hands in the left lateral occipitotemporal cortex. VSS, Vision Sciences Society. Naples, Florida (US).

2010 Bracci S, Ietswaart M, Peelen  MV and Cavina-Pratesi C. fMRI reveals evidence for a hand-selective region in left lateral occipito-temporal cortex. CAOs, workshop on Concepts, Actions, and Objects, Rovereto (Italy).

2010 Bracci S, Ietswaart M, Peelen  MV and Cavina-Pratesi C. Giving the brain a hand: Evidence for a hand selective visual area in the human left lateral occipito-temporal cortex. VSS Vision Sciences Society. Naples, Florida (US).

2010 Bracci S, Ietswaart M, and Cavina-Pratesi C. Effects of first and third person perspective during imitation of actions: An fMRI study. XXVIII European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology, Bressanone (Italy).

2009 Bracci S, Cavina-Pratesi C, Mechsner F, Coventry K and Ietswaart M. Functional dissociation within ventral and dorsal fronto-parietal areas for imitation of meaningful and meaningless tool movements: An fMRI study. XXVII European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology, Bressanone (Italy).

2008 Bracci S, Bach P, Schuch S, Tipper S.  Impairments in tool use understanding after left hemisphere lesions. CAOs, workshop on Concepts, Actions, and Objects, Rovereto (Italy).

ORGANISATION OF SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS

2019-present      Member of the Organizing and Scientific Committee of CAOs, Italy.

2016                   Member of the Organizing Committee of Neurocog, Belgium.