Research group · University of Verona
We study how minds represent bodies, choices and possible futures—using rigorous statistics, Bayesian models and open practices to connect cognitive science with questions that matter beyond the laboratory.
Our perspective
Scando-lab is led by Michele Scandola, Associate Professor of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Human Sciences at the University of Verona. Our work crosses methodological and disciplinary borders without losing sight of the people represented by the data.
We connect statistical reasoning with research on body representations, pain, neuropsychological assessment, young people not in education, employment or training, eco-emotions and neurodivergence. The common thread is simple: careful measurement, explicit uncertainty and knowledge that others can inspect and build upon.
Research themes
From formal models to lived experience, our programmes examine how cognition is shaped by prior knowledge, bodily signals, executive functions and social or environmental context.
We develop, test and disseminate statistical approaches for cognitive science and neuropsychology. Current work includes Bayesian and frequentist mixed models, complex experimental designs, single-case inference, reliability and reproducible analysis.
How do prior expectations and sensory evidence combine to produce body ownership, spatial experience, pain and action? We study body representations as dynamic inferences—continually updated by the brain in health and after neurological change.
Research with young people not in education, employment or training examines how personality, executive functions and cognitive-motivational processes relate to employability, participation and pathways back into opportunity.
We investigate how emotions about environmental change interact with executive functions, decision-making, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour—at both individual and collective levels.
Our emerging programme focuses on fair cognitive assessment and the mechanisms that can obscure neurodivergence, including gender bias. We aim for careful measurement, inclusive research questions and clinically meaningful interpretation.
Open science
Open science is not an appendix to our research. It shapes how questions are formulated, analyses are documented and results are communicated. We support research cultures in which methods, uncertainty and limitations are visible—and where reusable tools can travel further than a single paper.
People
Scando-lab brings together neuropsychology, quantitative methods and emerging research on social and environmental transitions.
Principal Investigator · Associate Professor
Neuropsychologist and quantitative researcher studying body and space representations, statistical methodology, neuropsychological instruments, NEET-related executive functions and gender bias in neurodivergence.
University profilePh.D. candidate · Human Sciences
Martina studies NEET and employability, with particular attention to personality structure and executive functioning, and how these dimensions can inform routes towards participation in the labour market.
University profilePh.D. candidate · Human Sciences
Anna Laura investigates eco-emotions and their relationship with pro-environmental behaviour, executive functions and decision-making, connecting environmental responsibility with individual and collective wellbeing.
University profileIntern · Student of Psychology and Computer Science
Riccardo is involved in a project to embody neuro-typical participants in neuro-divegent experiences through virtual-reality based simulations.
University profileIntern · Student of Psychology
Jorge is involved in a project studying the effects of climiate change in emotions and executive functions.
University profileSelected publications
A curated route through the publications most closely connected to Scando-lab's current programmes. Use the filters to move between methodological and body-related work.
M. Scandola & E. Tidoni · Zenodo preprint · Version 1
G. Fusco, M. Scandola and colleagues · Scientific Reports
M. Beccherle & M. Scandola · Journal of Neuropsychology, 19(S1), 26–41
M. Scandola, M. Beccherle and colleagues · Scientific Reports, 15, 692
M. Scandola & E. Tidoni · Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science
M. Scandola and colleagues · Psychophysiology
M. Scandola & S. Makhloufi · PsyArXiv preprint, version 1
M. Scandola & D. Romano · Neuropsychologia, 156, 107834
Contact
For research collaborations, supervision enquiries, methodological exchange or information about Scando-lab, contact Michele Scandola at the University of Verona.
