Publications

Selected publications from the group’s research areas, ordered by publication year.

Papers

ReferenceTopicsURL
Sessa, P., Schiano Lomoriello, A., Quettier, T., Maffei, A., Costa, S., Nichele, M., & Ferrari, P. F. Facial palsy reveals the sensorimotor contribution to facial-emotion recognition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.Sensorimotor contribution to facial-emotion recognition.
Baldi, J., Disarbois, E., Mendez, A. C., Cappellaro, G., Annicchiarico, G., Bimbi, M., Coudé, G., Duhamel, J.-R., & Ferrari, P. F. (2025). Frontal cortex encodes action goals and social context in freely moving and socially interacting macaques. bioRxiv.Frontal representations during free social interaction.DOI: 10.1101/2025.10.21.683128
Nodé-Langlois, O., Rolland, E., Girard-Buttoz, C., Samuni, L., Ferrari, P. F., Wittig, R. M., & Crockford, C. (2025). Social tolerance and role model diversity increase tool use learning opportunities across chimpanzee ontogeny. Communications Biology, 8, 509.Social opportunities for chimpanzee tool-use learning.DOI: 10.1038/s42003-025-07885-4
Ferrari, P. F. (2024). Social neuroscience: Primate research goes wireless. Current Biology.Ecological wireless primate social neuroscience.DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.046
Schiano Lomoriello, A., Caperna, G., Carta, A., De Stefani, E., Ferrari, P. F., & Sessa, P. (2024). Sensitivity to basic emotional expressions and the emotion perception space in the absence of facial mimicry: The case of individuals with congenital facial palsy. Emotion, 24, 602–616.Emotion perception without facial mimicry.
Sclafani, V., De Pascalis, L., Bozicevic, L., Sepe, A., Ferrari, P. F., & Murray, L. (2023). Similarities and differences in the functional architecture of mother-infant communication in rhesus macaque and British mother-infant dyads. Scientific Reports.Comparative mother–infant communication.DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39623-3
Rayson, H., Szul, M. J., El-Khoueiry, P., Debnath, R., Gautier-Martins, M., Ferrari, P. F., Fox, N., & Bonaiuto, J. J. (2023). Bursting with Potential: How Sensorimotor Beta Bursts Develop from Infancy to Adulthood. Journal of Neuroscience, 43, 8487–8503.Development of sensorimotor beta bursts.
Massera, A., Rayson, H., Belluardo, M., Ben Hamed, S., & Ferrari, P. F. (2023). Longitudinal effects of early psychosocial deprivation on decision-making in juvenile macaques. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 290, 20221993.Longitudinal effects of psychosocial deprivation.
Quettier, T., Schiano Lomoriello, A., De Stefani, E., Ferrari, P. F., & Sessa, P. (2023). Testing EEG functional connectivity between sensorimotor and visual regions during face processing in congenital facial palsy. NeuroImage: Clinical, 38, 103399.EEG functional connectivity during face processing.
Kirchherr, S., Mildiner Moraga, S., Coudé, G., Bimbi, M., Ferrari, P. F., Aarts, E., & Bonaiuto, J. (2023). Bayesian multilevel hidden Markov models identify stable state dynamics in longitudinal recordings from macaque primary motor cortex. European Journal of Neuroscience.Bayesian state modelling of longitudinal motor-cortex recordings.DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16065
Sessa, P., Schiano Lomoriello, A., Luria, R., Mento, G., De Stefani, E., & Ferrari, P. F. (2022). Degenerate pathway for processing smile and other emotional expressions in congenital facial palsy. Cerebral Cortex, 32, 5282–5296.Emotion-expression processing pathways.
De Stefani, E., Barbot, A., Zannoni, C., et al., & Ferrari, P. F. (2022). Post-surgery rehabilitative intervention based on imitation therapy and mouth–hand motor synergies provides better outcomes in smile production in children and adults with long-term facial paralysis. Frontiers in Neurology, 13, 757523.Rehabilitation after facial reanimation.
Sessa, P., Schiano Lomoriello, A., Duma, G. M., Mento, G., De Stefani, E., & Ferrari, P. F. (2022). Degenerate pathway for processing smile and other emotional expressions in congenital facial palsy: an hdEEG investigation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 377, 20210190.High-density EEG study of congenital facial palsy.
Festante, F., Rayson, H., Paukner, A., Kaburu, S. S. K., Toschi, G., Thorpe, S. G., Buchanan, R. W., Fox, N. A., & Ferrari, P. F. (2021). Oxytocin promotes prosocial behavior and related neural responses in infant macaques at-risk for compromised social development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.Oxytocin and early social-development risk.DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100950
Rayson, H., Massera, A., Belluardo, M., Ben Hamed, S., & Ferrari, P. F. (2021). Early social adversity modulates the relation between attention biases and socioemotional behaviour in juvenile macaques. Scientific Reports, 11, 21704.Attention and socio-emotional effects of adversity.
Festante, F., Sesso, G., Masi, G., et al., & Ferrari, P. F. (2020). Intranasal oxytocin enhances EEG mu-rhythm suppression during observation of social stimuli in children with autism spectrum disorder. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 117, 104702.Oxytocin and social EEG responses in autism.
Coudé, G., Toschi, G., Festante, F., Bimbi, M., Bonaiuto, J., & Ferrari, P. F. (2019). Grasping neurons in the ventral premotor cortex of macaques are modulated by social goals. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 31, 299–313.Premotor coding of social goals.DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01353
De Stefani, E., Nicolini, Y., Belluardo, M., & Ferrari, P. F. (2019). Congenital facial palsy and emotion processing: The case of Moebius syndrome. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 18, e12548.Emotion processing in congenital facial palsy.
Tramacere, A., Pievani, T., & Ferrari, P. F. (2017). Mirror neurons in the tree of life: Mosaic evolution, plasticity and exaptation of sensorimotor matching responses. Biological Reviews, 92, 1819–1841.Evolution and plasticity of sensorimotor matching.
Baker, M., Lindell, S. G., Driscoll, C. A., Zhou, Z., Yuan, Q., Schwandt, M. L., et al., & Ferrari, P. F. (2017). Early rearing history influences oxytocin receptor (OXTR) epigenetic regulation in rhesus macaques. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 114, 11769–11774.Early rearing and OXTR epigenetic regulation.
Dettmer, A. M., Kaburu, S. S. K., Simpson, E. A., Paukner, A., Sclafani, V., Byers, K. L., et al., & Ferrari, P. F. (2016). Neonatal face-to-face interactions shape later social behavior in infant rhesus monkeys. Nature Communications.Early interaction and later social behaviour.DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11940
Simpson, E. A., Sclafani, V., Paukner, A., et al., & Ferrari, P. F. (2014). Inhaled oxytocin increases positive social behaviors in newborn macaques. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 111, 6922–6927.Oxytocin and prosocial behaviour in newborn macaques.
Christov-Moore, L., Simpson, E. A., Coudé, G., Grigaityte, K., Iacoboni, M., & Ferrari, P. F. (2014). Empathy: Gender effects in brain and behavior. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 46, 604–627.Sex and gender effects in empathy.
Steele, J., Ferrari, P. F., & Fogassi, L. (2012). From action to language: Comparative perspectives on primate tool use, gesture and the evolution of human language. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 367, 4–9.Comparative tool use, gesture and language evolution.
Ferrari, P. F., Vanderwert, R. E., Paukner, A., Bower, S., Suomi, S. J., & Fox, N. A. (2012). Distinct EEG amplitude suppression to facial gestures as evidence for a mirror mechanism in newborn monkeys. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 24, 1165–1172.Neonatal EEG evidence for a mirror mechanism.
Coudé, G., Ferrari, P. F., Rodà, F., Maranesi, M., Borelli, E., Veroni, V., Monti, F., Rozzi, S., & Fogassi, L. (2011). Neurons controlling voluntary vocalization in the macaque ventral premotor cortex. PLoS ONE, 6, e26822.Voluntary vocalization and premotor control.DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026822
Chersi, F., Ferrari, P. F., & Fogassi, L. (2011). Neuronal chains for actions in the parietal lobe: A computational model. PLoS ONE, 6, e27652.Computational model of parietal neuronal action chains.DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027652
Bonini, L., Rozzi, S., Serventi, F. U., Simone, L., Ferrari, P. F., & Fogassi, L. (2011). Ventral premotor and inferior parietal cortices make distinct contributions to action organization and intention understanding. Cerebral Cortex, 20, 1372–1385.Distinct parietal and premotor roles in action organisation.
Ferrari, P. F., Paukner, A., Ionica, C., & Suomi, S. J. (2009). Reciprocal face-to-face communication between rhesus macaque mothers and their newborn infants. Current Biology, 19, 1768–1772.Reciprocal early mother–infant communication.
Ferrari, P. F., Visalberghi, E., Paukner, A., Fogassi, L., Ruggiero, A., & Suomi, S. J. (2006). Neonatal imitation in rhesus macaques. PLoS Biology, 4, e302.Neonatal imitation in macaques.DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040302
Ferrari, P. F., Rozzi, S., & Fogassi, L. (2005). Mirror neurons responding to observation of actions made with tools in monkey ventral premotor cortex. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 212–226.Tool-action observation in premotor cortex.
Fogassi, L., Ferrari, P. F., Gesierich, B., Rozzi, S., Chersi, F., & Rizzolatti, G. (2005). Parietal lobe: From action organization to intention understanding. Science, 308, 662–667.Goal-dependent organisation of action and intention understanding.
Ferrari, P. F., Gallese, V., Rizzolatti, G., & Fogassi, L. (2003). Mirror neurons responding to the observation of ingestive and communicative mouth actions in the monkey ventral premotor cortex. European Journal of Neuroscience, 17, 1703–1714.Mirror responses to communicative and ingestive actions.