Michele Scandola (He / Him)

@openscience.bsky.social @opensciencenl.bsky.social @osobservatories.bsky.social @grios-openscience.bsky.social

Join us for the 5th Annual Meeting of the Italian Reproducibility Network
“The Present of Research is Open”

Registrations are now open!
tinyurl.com/ITRN2026

🗓️ Feb 13, 2026 – Verona
🛠️ Workshop on Feb 12
🌍 International speakers
🧪 Posters & prizes!

#OpenScience #ITRN2026

🌍 How has #OpenScience changed your work or vision of science?
Share your story in a short video (🎥) or text+photo 📝 and inspire others!
➡️ Submit here: shorturl.at/w31dH or here: shorturl.at/7Ktgd
✨ Testimonials will be shown at #ITRN2026 in Verona!

8/
We’d love to hear your thoughts!
💬 Join the conversation: How are you addressing replicability in AI-enhanced research?
📄 Read the pre-print: osf.io/preprints/os...
#OpenScience #Reproducibility #AI #SocialRobotics #ITRN

7/
Authored by:
Antonio Aquino, Fabio Aurelio D’Asaro, Rocco Gaudenzi, Marco Lezcano, Vittorio Iacovella, Michela Vezzoli, and Michele Scandola
🧠 ITRN AI Working Group

6/
Though rooted in social robotics, this framework applies to any AI-driven experimental research, especially in the social sciences.

5/
To address this, we offer a framework based on Open Science:
✅ Modular testing
✅ Parameter fixation
✅ Structured prompt engineering
✅ Robust experimental design

4/
This raises new challenges:
🤖 Adaptive AI behavior
🎭 GAN-generated facial expressions
💬 Emotionally expressive chatbots
All can undermine experimental control.

3/
We propose a new experimental model:
🔁 Experiment-AI-Subjects Triad (EAIST)
AI becomes part of the experimental loop, generating stimuli and conditions.

2/
Generative AI is reshaping experimental research.
But how do we ensure replicability when AI introduces randomness and variability?

🧵1/
🚨 New pre-print from the ITRN AI Working Group!
"AI in the Experimental Loop: Implications for Replicability in Social Robotics and Social Sciences"
📄 osf.io/preprints/os...

Comorbidity aggregation models in children and adolescents with ADHD and direct and moderator effects of familial clinical history and psychosocial factors ADHD condition occurs with an extensive variety of comorbid mental disorders This study aims to individuate models of comorbidity aggregation in 1086 …

7/ Why it matters:
✅ More precise subgrouping = better diagnosis
✅ Tailored interventions
✅ Recognition of familial and contextual influence
📚 Read the full study:
👉 sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#ADHD #Neurodevelopment #Psychiatry #MentalHealthResearch #Comorbidity #neurosciences

6/ Bottom line:
ADHD is not just a core symptom diagnosis—it clusters with distinct comorbidity profiles. These profiles are shaped by familial psychiatric history and environmental risk.
🧠 We argue for a nosology of ADHD that reflects this complexity.

5/ Notably:
👩 Mothers with ADHD influenced the Tic-Autism vs. Bipolar group only when siblings had lower ADHD rates.
🏠 High negative parenting & lower FDR neurodevelopmental disorders were linked to profile 4 (ODD vs. SLD).

4/ We looked at family mental health:
✅ Psychiatric disorders in FDRs had a direct effect on Anxiety-Depression-CD (profile 1).
✅ ADHD in siblings + negative parenting affected multiple profiles.
✅ Proband’s age and overlap between profiles gave further insight.

3/ Some comorbidities were mutually exclusive—like Tic/Autism vs. Bipolar in group 3 and ODD vs. Learning Disorders in group 4. These “contraposed” profiles suggest different developmental pathways.

2/ Comorbidities grouped into 4 main profiles:

1. Anxiety, Depression & Conduct Disorder
2. Intellectual Disability, Specific Language Disorder & Coordination Disorder
3. Tic/Tourette & Autism vs. Bipolar Disorder
4. Oppositional Defiant Disorder vs. Specific Learning Disorders

1/ We studied comorbidities in 1,086 individuals with ADHD and explored how first-degree relatives’ (FDRs) mental disorders and socio-environmental factors influence these patterns. What we found suggests ADHD is not one-size-fits-all. Here's what we learned 👇

We’re very happy to share our new publication:
"Comorbidity aggregation models in children and adolescents with ADHD and direct and moderator effects of familial clinical history and psychosocial factors"
🧵Thread 👇

Journal of Neuropsychology | Wiley Online Library Journal of Neuropsychology is an international neuroscience journal publishing original contributions in both experimental and clinical neuropsychology.

🚨Call for Papers!🚨Share your knowledge of cutting-edge neuropsychological techniques in the Journal of Neuropsychology (@BPSOfficial @WileyPsychology) SI “Neurotutorials: Advances in Neuropsychological Methods Made Simple”. tinyurl.com/3yjvmncc
#Neuropsychology #Neuroscience

(Un)intentionality bias in action observation revisited When observing individuals in action, we often infer their goals and intentions. Yet, in situations where actions are ambiguous and could be either in…

Happy to share our latest study on (Un)intentionality bias in action observation! We found that people perceive ambiguous actions as intentional—especially when posture aligns with the goal. This bias shifts with schizotypal cognitive traits.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Proteggiamo la nostra democrazia da X di Elon Musk X di Musk sta amplificando le voci estremiste: chiediamo all'UE di agire ora e di proteggere la nostra democrazia!🛡️🇪🇺

action.wemove.eu/sign/2025-01...

How does pain reshape your world? Let’s discuss 👇

6/ Conclusions:
In FM, chronic and widespread pain alters bodily-based distance estimation.
This suggests pain disrupts spatial perception mechanisms typically aligned with the Economy of Action Hypothesis.
👉 Chronic pain = compromised space representation.
#NeuroSci #PainResearch

5/ Key Results:
• HC perceived distances as farther on the steeper (24%) ramp—confirming the Economy of Action Hypothesis.
• FM patients showed no difference between ramps.
• FM patients’ performance was influenced by visceral and neuropathic pain.

4/ Our Study:
We examined perception of flags in extrapersonal space on ramps with:
• Mild incline (4%)
• Steep incline (24%)
💡 We explored how pain types (musculoskeletal, neuropathic, visceral) influenced spatial estimation in FM vs. HC.

3/ But how does pain affect spatial perception?
📚 Literature is mixed—pain is deeply personal and influenced by factors like:
• Duration
• Type (musculoskeletal, neuropathic, visceral)
• Intensity
We aimed to investigate this in fibromyalgia (FM) patients vs. healthy controls (HC).

2/ The Economy of Action Hypothesis suggests our bodily state influences how we perceive space.
🌟 Example:
When tired or carrying a heavy load, objects in space appear farther away compared to when we're in an optimal physical state.

Pain and the perception of space in fibromyalgia Scientific Reports - Pain and the perception of space in fibromyalgia

🚨 Excited to kick off 2025 with a new publication! 🚨
"Pain and the perception of space in fibromyalgia"
📜 Read here: rdcu.be/d5zGH
With @maddalenabecc @ValeMoroUnivr @NpsyVr @SciReports
#Pain #Perception #Fibromyalgia #Neuroscience
🧵 Thread: 1/

I am very happy to be part of this new, fascinating study!