Giovanni Federico, PhD

👤 Psychologist · 🧠 Cognitive Neuroscientist
🎓 Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience @ UNISOB, Naples (Italy)
🐶 Dog dad · 💻 Tech enthusiast · 🌿 Outdoor explorer · ✈️ Traveller

How do we perceive and make sense of the physical world?

I investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms that allow us to comprehend and manipulate the physical world. Recently, I have focused on understanding the relationship between cognitive functions and rapidly evolving technologies. To achieve this, I design and conduct advanced behavioural and eye-tracking experiments, integrating them with cutting-edge neuroimaging techniques, such as functional/structural MRI and high-density EEG.

An integrated account for technological cognition

Federico et al. (2025)

Two Distinct Neural Pathways for Mechanical versus Digital Technology

Federico et al. (2024)

On the functional brain networks involved in tool-related action understanding

Federico et al. (2023)

Bringing cumulative technological culture beyond copying versus reasoning

Osiurak, Claidière and Federico (2023)

What semantic dementia tells us about the ability to infer others' communicative intentions

Osiurak and Federico (2023)

The cortical thickness of the area PF of the left inferior parietal cortex mediates technical-reasoning skills

Federico et al. (2022)

Technical reasoning bolsters cumulative technological culture through convergent transformations

Osiurak, ..., Federico, et al. (2022)

Hazardous tools: the emergence of reasoning in human tool use

Federico, Osiurak and Brandimonte (2021)

Looking to recognise: The pre-eminence of semantic over sensorimotor processing in human tool use

Federico et al. (2020)

Tool and object affordances: An ecological eye-tracking study

Federico and Brandimonte (2019)

Blog

Research

When words won't come: boosting verb retrieval with brain stimulation after stroke

Anodal tDCS over the left frontal cortex boosts verb retrieval in chronic aphasia, and the frontal pole predicts who benefits most. Our new study in Cortex.

Written by
neurogiovanni

Research

How the brain shifts from doing to delegating

Our research shows how the brain transitions from performing to delegating technical tasks, activating both technical and social reasoning networks—a process we term transactive technical cognition.

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neurogiovanni

News

Our lab welcomes a new wireless EEG system

Our lab welcomes the g.tec g.NAUTILUS 32-channel wireless EEG for portable neuroimaging in cognitive neuroscience research

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neurogiovanni

Research

From screws to screens: Distinct neural pathways for different technologies

The brain uses distinct neural pathways to process mechanical and digital technologies.

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neurogiovanni

Research

An integrated neurocognitive model of technological cognition

From tools to touchscreens — our new model illustrates how the brain produces technological cognition.

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neurogiovanni

News

A fresh look for my online home

Fresh look, same mission: exploring the brain, technology, and the ideas in between.

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neurogiovanni