The Department welcomes Giulio Contemori as RTDA from August 2024
"We see the world not as it is, but as we are." (Edmund Husserl). The phenomenal world does not correspond to the physical world but results from a series of physical, physiological, and psychological mediations. The relationship between the phenomenal and physical world has always fascinated me and has been the focus of my studies. My research interests span from psychophysics to vision sciences, with a particular focus on neuropsychology. I am especially drawn to cases where perception diverges from the physical world, as seen in visual illusions. One of my main research lines involves using psychophysical techniques to study neural mechanisms, such as the lateral masking paradigm to analyze lateral interactions between receptive fields in the visual cortex. The goal is to apply these findings in translational research, developing rehabilitative tools to enhance residual visual abilities in patients with low vision and hemianopia. Another research line explores mechanisms of visual information integration and extrapolation between the fovea and periphery. Additionally, I am very interested in using quantitative methods that integrate psychophysical data with physiological data, such as electroencephalography and eye movement measurements. Recently, I have also been exploring perception of quantities like numerosity and time. An emerging research area for me involves using assessment tools based on dual-tasking to predict and monitor symptoms of cognitive decline. I enjoy programming and, when lab measurements aren't required, I conduct online data collections with tests developed in JavaScript. Outside of academic life, I'm a big fan of anime, manga, and TV series of all kinds, and I love participating in sports. I was a competitive skier in the past, and currently, I enjoy playing table tennis. I don't have a preference between the sea and mountains, but I prefer activities like via ferrata or canoeing over a simple walk... without effort, there is no satisfaction!
