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Giorgia Ponsi

Post Doc
Neuroscience and society
Research center
Interests
About

My current research activity aims at investigating:

- The role of dopamine in the modulation of moral decision-making and Sense of Agency in Parkinson's disease;

- Implicit sense of agency measures as markers of prosocial decision-making;

- Neural correlates of moral decision-making;

- The effects of brain lesions on moral decision-making.

Using eye-tracking technology, we recently found that hierarchical rank influences the amount of attention individuals allocate to processing social signals, such as gaze (Ponsi Schepisi et al., 2024 iScience). 

In 2018 I was awarded a Bial Foundation Grant titled “Embodied morality: autonomic signatures of spontaneous deception in mindfulness trained practitioners”, aimed at understandig whether mindfulness practice impacts the willigness to deceive others to receive a monetary reward (Feruglio et al., 2023 Mindfulness; Feruglio et al., 2022. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience) and the associated autonomic facial markers measured by means of thermal imaging technology.

During my Ph.D. I employed thermal imaging to investigate the autonomic facial markers of emotional processing and regulation applied to the domains of intergroup social categorization (Ponsi et al., 2017. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences), social exclusion/inclusion (Ponsi et al., 2019. Journal of Neurophysiology) and cognitive workload (Panasiti, Ponsi et al., 2019. Experimental Brain Research).​

In early research experiences I investigated intertemporal choice (De Petrillo et al., 2015a. Animal Cognition) and gambling (De Petrillo et al., 2015b. Animal Cogniton) in non-human primates (Capuchin monkeys, Sapajus spp.)






Education

Title: Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Neuroscience (Cognitive, Social and Affective Neuroscience)
Institute: Sapienza University of Rome
Location: Rome
Country: Italy
From: 2012 To: 2015

Title: M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychological Rehabilitation (Methodological-Experimental Career)
Institute: Sapienza University of Rome
Location: Rome
Country: Italy
From: 2009 To: 2011

Title: B.Sc. in Psychological and Clinical Assessment
Institute: Sapienza University of Rome
Location: Rome
Country: Italy
From: 2006 To: 2009

Experience External

Title: Post-doctoral researcher
Institute: Sapienza University of Rome
Location: Rome
Country: Italy
From: 2019 To: null

Title: Post-doctoral researcher
Institute: IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation
Location: Rome
Country: Italy
From: 2018 To: 2018

Title: Post-doctoral researcher
Institute: University of Bern
Location: Bern
Country: Switzerland
From: 2016 To: 2017

Title: Ph.D. student
Institute: Sapienza University of Rome
Location: Rome
Country: Italy
From: 2012 To: 2015

Title: Intern
Institute: Affective Processes and Social Cognition Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome
Location: Rome
Country: Italy
From: 2012 To: 2013

Title: Intern
Institute: Unit of Cognitive Primatology ISTC-CNR (Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council)
Location: Rome
Country: Italy
From: 2012 To: 2012

Top Publications
2024
Ponsi G., Schepisi M., Ferri D., Bianchi F., Consiglio C., Borgogni L., Aglioti S. M.
Leading through gaze: Enhanced social attention in high-rank members of a large-scale organization
iScience, vol. 27, (no. 11)
Article Journal
2023
Globig L.K., Gianotti L.R.R., Ponsi G., Koenig T., Dahinden F.M., Knoch D.
The path of dishonesty: identification of mental processes with electrical neuroimaging
Cerebral Cortex, vol. 33, (no. 11), pp. 6693-6700
2022
Villa R., Ponsi G., Scattolin M., Panasiti M.S., Aglioti S.M.
Social, affective, and non-motoric bodily cues to the Sense of Agency: A systematic review of the experience of control
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, vol. 142
2021
Ponsi G., Scattolin M., Villa R., Aglioti S.M.
Human moral decision-making through the lens of Parkinson’s disease
npj Parkinson's Disease, vol. 7, (no. 1)
2019
Ponsi G., Monachesi B., Panasiti V., Aglioti S.M., Panasiti M.S.
Physiological and behavioral reactivity to social exclusion: A functional infrared thermal imaging study in patients with psoriasis
Journal of Neurophysiology, vol. 121, (no. 1), pp. 38-49
All Publications
2024
Ponsi G., Schepisi M., Ferri D., Bianchi F., Consiglio C., Borgogni L., Aglioti S. M.
Leading through gaze: Enhanced social attention in high-rank members of a large-scale organization
iScience, vol. 27, (no. 11)
Article Journal
2023
Globig L.K., Gianotti L.R.R., Ponsi G., Koenig T., Dahinden F.M., Knoch D.
The path of dishonesty: identification of mental processes with electrical neuroimaging
Cerebral Cortex, vol. 33, (no. 11), pp. 6693-6700
2023
Feruglio S., Panasiti M.S., Crescentini C., Aglioti S.M., Ponsi G.
Training the Moral Self: An 8-Week Mindfulness Meditation Program Leads to Reduced Dishonest Behavior and Increased Regulation of Interoceptive Awareness
Mindfulness, vol. 14, (no. 11), pp. 2757-2779
Article Journal
2022
Villa R., Ponsi G., Scattolin M., Panasiti M.S., Aglioti S.M.
Social, affective, and non-motoric bodily cues to the Sense of Agency: A systematic review of the experience of control
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, vol. 142
2022
Feruglio S., Panasiti M.S., Crescentini C., Aglioti S.M., Ponsi G.
The impact of mindfulness meditation on social and moral behavior: Does mindfulness enhance other-oriented motivation or decrease monetary reward salience?
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, vol. 16