Investigating individual-specific topographic organization has traditionally been a resource-intensive and time-consuming process. But what if we could map visual cortex organization in thousands of brains? Here we offer the community with a toolbox that can do just that! tinyurl.com/deepretinotopy

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Associate Professor at the University of Florence!

New study in BMC Biologyl! We found that individuals with higher math anxiety exhibited worse numerosity thresholds as well as stronger central tendency and serial dependence effects compared to those with lower math anxiety.
rdcu.be/eK25j

A sunset photo of Padua, Italy, depicting a panoramic view of the city reflected in the Bacchiglione River. In addition, the image includes dates, logos and conference location for 2026.

Hello #MCLS2026 !☘️

We are delighted to announce the dates for our upcoming conference in Padua, Italy! 🇮🇹

Thanks to the local organisers at Università di Padova
S. Caviola, R. Rugani, M. Ranzini, and others
@mcls-official.bsky.social
@mclstrainee.bsky.social
#neuroskyence #cogsci #edusky #devpsy

Bravo Mirko!

Great day discussing number perception across species and development at SINS!

I am already there! Can't wait!!! :D Love it!🥰🤩❤️

New study out! Congrats to @alirezakr.bsky.social for the great work!

New article out featuring CIMeC researchers Alireza Karami and Manuela Piazza, in collaboration with Elisa Castaldi and Evelyn Eger!

@alirezakr.bsky.social, @manpiazza.bsky.social

Read more 👇🏻
www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08395-z

Distinct neural representational geometries of numerosity in early visual and association regions across visual streams - Communications Biology This study reveals distinct neural codes for visual numerosity across the brain, showing that numerosity is independently represented from early visual areas to higher-level regions along both dorsal ...

This study reveals distinct neural codes for visual numerosity across the brain, showing that numerosity is independently represented from early visual areas to higher-level regions along both dorsal and ventral streams. www.nature.com/articles/s42...

🔐 All data will be handled securely and in full compliance with GDPR. The study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Florence.

⏱️ There are various tasks and questionnaires, each takes only a few minutes. You can stop and resume at any time!
📩 If you're interested, please contact me at: elisa.castaldi@unifi.it

Looking for volunteers for an online study! Anyone aged between 18 and 85 who speaks fluent Italian or English can participate.
🎯 The study explores the relationship between numerical and visuospatial abilities, and how these are influenced by genetic, experiential and emotional factors.

Very proud to be part of this important and exciting work, also featured in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Il senso del numero distingue gli oggetti che contiamo - Unifimagazine - La testata online dell’Ateneo fiorentino Il legame tra calcolo e identità visiva al centro di una ricerca condotta dai Dipartimenti di Neurofarba e di Fisica e Astronomia, pubblicata su Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

www.unifimagazine.it/senso-del-nu...

Università di Firenze, neuroscienze: il legame tra calcolo numerico e identità visiva La ricerca è stata pubblicata su Proceedings of the Royal Society B

In the news with Roberto Arrighi, Paolo Grasso and Camilla Caponi :)
www.lanazione.it/firenze/cron...

These findings suggest that numerosity mechanisms may operate on categorized items in addition to the total quantity of the set.

In contrast, salient changes like motion or shape rotation had no impact, indicating that reduced adaptation depends on identity rather than novelty changes.

Is numerosity adaptation influenced by stimulus feature changes?
Using adaptation to illusorily alter numerosity perception, we found that only changes usually tied to stimulus identity (e.g., color, shape, luminance polarity) affected the illusion's strength.

Feature-selective adaptation of numerosity perception | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Perceptual adaptation has been widely used to infer the existence of numerosity detectors, enabling animals to quickly estimate the number of objects in a scene. Here, we investigated, in humans, whet...

New paper
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

“Groupitizing”: A Visuo-Spatial and Arithmetic Phenomenon Abstract. When objects are grouped in space, humans can estimate numerosity more precisely than when they are randomly scattered. This phenomenon, called groupitizing, is thought to arise from the int...

New paper out: “Groupitizing”: A Visuo-Spatial and Arithmetic Phenomenon direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...

A left-to-right bias in number-space mapping across ages and cultures - Nature Communications This study examined the role of age and culture in determining spatial-numerical associations. Results showed all groups displayed implicit left-to-right biases, suggesting a biological basis for spac...

Debate resolved!
Is the left-to-right association between numbers and space biologically or culturally determined?
Our study involved:
👨‍👩‍👧 Unschooled adults (Himba, Namibia)
👶 Italian pre-schooled kids
🎓 Italian schooled adults

— see comment for the findings
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Excited to share my first first-author paper out now in PNAS! By comparing retinotopically-defined visual areas in macaques and humans, we found that evolutionary expansion is reflected in the size, not number, of visual areas. #neuroskyence #neuroscience
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Pupil size as a biomarker of cognitive (dys)functions: Toward a physiologically informed screening of mental states The objective assessment of cognitive processes is of critical importance to understanding the mechanisms underlying various mental functions and dysf…

Pupil size as a biomarker of cognitive (dys)functions: Toward a physiologically informed screening of mental states
Congrats Serena Castellotti & co.!!!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Application of Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (nTMS) to Study the Visual–Spatial Network and Prevent Neglect in Brain Tumour Surgery Objective: Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) has seldom been used to study visuospatial (VS) circuits so far. Our work studied (I) VS functions in neurosurgical oncological patients b...

Another step forward in improving neurosurgical procedures: Application of Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (nTMS) to Study the Visual–Spatial Network and Prevent Neglect in Brain Tumour Surgery
Congratulations Camilla Bonaudo et al!
www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/16...

The image shows a graphic announcing a Call for Submissions for the CogSci2025 conference, themed "Theories of the Past, Theories of the Future." The event will take place in San Francisco from July 30 to August 2. The text invites participants to review submission guidelines, download templates, and note key deadlines, all set against a teal background with bold typography. The logo features two overlapping silhouettes, emphasizing the conference theme.

📣 Submissions for #CogSci2025 are now OPEN!

🌍 This year’s conference is fully hybrid — join us in San Francisco or online!

🔍 Review the submission guidelines
⬇️ Download the required templates
🗓️ Make note of key deadline dates

cognitivesciencesociety.org/submissions/

Registration open for our Neuroimaging summer school in Cambridge in September 2025: www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/events/cogne...

This reminds us that there are many pathways outside the 'main' one to primary visual cortex (V1) that can function after V1 lesions. Some can even deliver conscious visual experiences. For example, conscious motion vision sometimes survives (aka Riddoch phenomenon) www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ABQ...

Hi! I would love to be added