anna m. borghi

* Sapienza Università di Roma; ° IST-CNR, Roma

anna.borghi@uniroma1.it

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Rome, October 14, 2026

https://sites.google.com/view/annaborghilab

@ballabrome.bsky.social

LINKAGES - Learning and usIng conCepts: Knowledge exchAnging and enGaging in innEr and Social dynamics

LINKAGES -

Learning and usIng conCepts: Knowledge exchAnging and enGaging in innEr and Social dynamics

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Aim:

• test the view that social interaction and knowledge exchange are constitutive of abstract concepts’ emergence, learning, and use
• investigate knowledge outsourcing toward human and artificial experts. 
• focus on scientific concepts of various domains.

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lifespan approach

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Presentation of LINKAGES as a whole

• People and roles
• Abstractness, vagueness, and social dynamics
• Work program - studies and people
• Introduction of onboard researchers and students
• Comments of the advisory board

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AIM OF TODAY�

Please, interrupt with questions at any time!

PEOPLE INVOLVED SO FAR

Claudia Mazzuca Matteo Tacconelli Anna Borghi Ilenia Falcinelli

Chiara De Livio Mara Stockner Fernando Maggio Antonio Pio Afragola

COLLEAGUES DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN LINKAGES

Charles Fernyhough, UK Annalisa Setti, Ireland Ferdinand Binkofski, Germany

Valerio Sperati Francesco Mannella Luca Tummolini Giovanni Granato Stefano Nolfi

ISTC-CNR, Italy

COLLEAGUES INDIRECTLY INVOLVED IN LINKAGES

Emanuele Brugnoli

Donald Ruggiero Lo Sardo

Claudio Brozzoli

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Vittorio Loreto

Angelo Mattia Gervasi

Lyon, FR

Laura Barca

Chiara Fini

ADVISORY BOARD

Prof. Rob Goldstone

Indiana University, USA

Prof. Guy Dove

Louisville University, USA

Prof. Penny Pexman

Western University, Canada

COMMITTEES

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Presentation of LINKAGES as a whole

• People and roles
• Abstractness, vagueness, and social dynamics
• Work program - studies and people
• Introduction of onboard researchers and students
• Comments of the advisory board

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AIM OF TODAY�

FRASI

10

vedi metafore; idiomi

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freedom

bottle

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ABSTRACTNESS / CONCRETENESS

NO DICHOTOMY!

- sensorimotor,

- similarity,

+ interoception,

+ language,

+ variability,

+ uncertainty,

+ need of others

+ inner speech?

Reilly et al., 2024; Borghi, 2022; Dove, 2022; Mazzuca et al., 2025

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Why to study abstractness?

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1. Abstract concepts are among the most sophisticated and flexible expressions of human cognition (e.g., Dove, 2018)
2. Abstract concepts are ubiquitous - More than 70% of words in adult speech are abstract (Lupyan & Winter, 2018)
3. Communicating about what is not present maximizes the role of social dynamics.

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ABSTRACTNESS

AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS�

Abstractness may

• enhance social cohesion forcing people to find common ground
• make the ingroup/ outgroup distinction more salient.

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Abstract concepts differ!

(Conca et al., 2021; Desai et al., 2018; Hairpaintner et al., 2018; Fischer & Shaki, 2018; Muraki et al., 2020, 2022; Villani et al., 2019; 2021; Winter, 2023)

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Borghi, Barca, Binkofski, Tummolini, 2018, Phil. Trans. B

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VARIETIES OF ABSTRACT CONCEPTS: CONCEPT KINDS

VARIETIES OF (ABSTRACT) CONCEPTS: VAGUENESS

Borghi, Mazzuca, & Tummolini, 2025. Nature Reviews Psychology.

• Determinate: shared and stable meaning, within a culture or among experts – e.g., number

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• Vague: flexible and open meaning; precision not necessary –e.g., freedom

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Borghi, 2023

And how about vagueness?

Fernyhough & Borghi, Trends in Cognitive Science (TICS), 2023

Borghi & Fernyhough, Phil. Trans. B, 2023

Drafted on Biorender; images from pixabay

Abstract concepts during their use: uncertainty, low confidence.

And how about vagueness?

Drafted on Biorender – Borghi, 2023

COMMUNITIES OF KNOWLEDGE

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Abstractness/concreteness and social interaction

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 Much work on socialness (e.g., Pexman et al., 2023)

Here, focus on social metacognition

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• With more abstract concepts we feel more uncertain
•  With more abstract concepts, we need others more (to solve this uncertainty?)

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OPEN ISSUES�

Literature on communities of knowledge + abstractness

We may need others to negotiate and outsource knowledge

• Vague abstract concepts – more negotiation?
• Determinate abstract concepts – more outsourcing? Which role of experts?

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Necessity of further evidence, possibly also based on interactive tasks to examine conceptual USE.

LINKAGES - VISION

AIM

rethinking concepts in light of

• social interaction
• communities of knowledge

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Presentation of LINKAGES as a whole

• People and roles
• Abstractness, vagueness, and social dynamics
• Work program - studies and people
• Introduction of onboard researchers and students
• Comments of the advisory board

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AIM OF TODAY�

PERTT

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it addresses some possible reasons for the emergence and spread of abstractness

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• using more abstract concepts may enhance the need to align, hence increase social cohesion
• using more abstract concepts (and more determinate ones) may have payoffs in reputation
• using more abstract concepts (and determinate ones) may even allow excluding others (outgroup)

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Experiments inspired by experimental semiotics

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Experiments to test payoffs in reputation

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Culturomics

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WP1 - EMERGENCE

Claudia Mazzuca - researcher - cognitive science, psychology, linguistics

Matteo Tacconelli - PhD - statistical physics

• 1.1. A. SIGN EMERGENCE GAMES
• hypothesis: more abstract words emerge more slowly but increase group cohesion.

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WP1 - EMERGENCE

Claudia Mazzuca

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• 1.3. CHANGES IN SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS.
• changes over time through diachronic study of multiple corpora. Machine learning.

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WP1 - EMERGENCE

Matteo Tacconelli - PhD - statistical physics

PERT

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it tests the hypothesis that, to learn more abstract concepts, people

1) use more inner speech;

2) need others more.

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To address 1),

experimental studies on inner speech with new interactive methods

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To test 1) and 2), populations who report not to use inner speech and have reduced social skills (anendophasic

and autistic individuals).

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WP2 - LEARNING/TEACHING

Chiara De Livio - 3rd year Phd student - future postdoc - psychology, cognitive science

prof. Charles Fernyhough, Durham University, UK

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it tests the hypothesis that, to learn more abstract concepts, people

1) use more inner speech;

2) need others more.

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To address 1),

computational model accounting for inner speech data in different populations.

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To test 1) and 2), populations who report they do not use inner speech and have reduced social skills (anendophasia, autism).

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WP2 - LEARNING/TEACHING

Dr. Giovanni Granato - researcher at ISTC-CNR - computational neuroscience

Dr. Valerio Sperati - researcher at ISTC-CNR - computer science

Ilenia Falcinelli

Chiara De Livio

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2.6. ALIGNMENT

• hypothesis: higher alignment with abstract than concrete concepts;
• difference in terms of alignment between vague and determinate concepts?
• study how alignment unfolds over time.
• behavioral alignment
• interbrain synchrony
• physiological synchrony
• linguistic alignment

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WP2 - LEARNING/TEACHING

it tests the hypothesis that, to learn more abstract concepts, people

1) use more inner speech;

2) need others more.

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it tests the hypothesis that, to learn more abstract concepts, people

1) use more inner speech;

2) need others more.

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To address 2),

• interbrain synchrony EEG hyperscanning. fNIRS??
• physiological synchrony: electrodermal skin response and Heart Rate variability

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WP2 - LEARNING/TEACHING

Dr. Ilenia Falcinelli - postdoc - cognitive psychology, cognitive and social neuroscience

Prof. Ferdinand Binkofski - Aachen University

Antonio Pio Afragola - PhD student - cognitive and social neuroscience

Dr. Fernando Maggio - engineering + cognitive neuroscience - technological support

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it tests the hypothesis that, to learn more abstract concepts, people

1) use more inner speech;

2) need others more.

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To address 2),

• behavioral alignment
• linguistic alignment

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WP2 - LEARNING/TEACHING

Dr. Fernando Maggio - engineering + cognitive neuroscience - technological support

Chiara De Livio - 3rd year Phd student - future postdoc - psychology, cognitive science

PERTT

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it tests the hypothesis that people negotiate more the meaning of abstract than concrete concepts, and focuses on symmetrical interactions

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DIALOGUES (same methods as in WP2)

• behavioral alignment
• interbrain synchrony
• physiological synchrony
• linguistic alignment
• correlation with ratings of pleasantness, conversation fluency, feeling of learning, confidence

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WP3 - NEGOTIATION

Dr. Ilenia Falcinelli

Prof. Ferdinand Binkofski -

Antonio Pio Afragola

Dr. Fernando Maggio

Chiara De Livio

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• 3.2. DIALOGUES IN AUTISM
• same task, lower alignment expected, less marked distinction ACs/CCs and vague/non vague concepts

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• 3.3. MODEL OF ALIGNMENT

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WP3 - NEGOTIATION

Dr. Francesco Mannella, ISTC-CNR - computational neuroscientist

Dr. Ilenia Falcinelli

Dr. Valerio

Sperati

Antonio Pio Afragola

Dr. Giovanni

Granato

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Dr. Luca Tummolini,

ISTC-CNR - cognitive scientist

PERT

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• with which concepts, when, and to whom people outsource knowledge?
• are knowledge illusions in interacting with experts more prominent when experts use abstract concepts (e.g., overstating of one’s own knowledge)?
• do people outsource knowledge more with determinate abstract concepts, such as scientific and technological concepts, than with vague ones?
• are there differences in interacting with human and artificial (AI) experts?

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WP4 - OUTSOURCING

Dr. Luca Tummolini,

ISTC-CNR - cognitive scientist

Dr. Mara Stockner

postdoc - cognitive psychology

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4.2. CATEGORIZING WITH EXPERTS

• new category; solo vs. in pairs.
• better performance with responsive

experts and frequent questions

• more with determinate concepts

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WP4 - OUTSOURCING

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4.4. VIRTUAL EXPERTS

• does experts availability increases outsourcing?
• does interaction with AI experts increase metacognition?
• different ages with human experts vs. chatbots.

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WP4 - OUTSOURCING

Mara Stockner

PERT

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• to build a crosslinguistic dataset of scientific concepts from different areas, each with different contexts, and test how meaning varies

as a function of context and how to best convey scientific information.

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• to capture through word embedding differences due to conceptual abstractness and vagueness and their variations due to expertise.

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WP5 - EXPERTISE AND SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS

Dr.Annalisa Setti,

University College Cork, Ireland - psychologist

Dr.Stefano Nolfi, ISTC-CNR - computer scientist, roboticist

Claudia Mazzuca

Russell Neil Eaton, intern student

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5.1. DATABASE

Scientific concepts - Italian-, German-, and English-speakers.

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WP5 - EXPERTISE AND SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS

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• to capture through word embedding differences due to conceptual abstractness and vagueness and their variations due to expertise.

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5.3. WORD EMBEDDING

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WP5 - EXPERTISE AND SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS

Dr.Stefano Nolfi, ISTC-CNR - computer scientist, roboticist

Russell Neil Eaton, intern student

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5.4. COMMUNICATION

• Aim: Better convey scientific concepts.
• Children and people of different ages and expertise rate the learning value and efficacy of the database sentences.

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WP5 - EXPERTISE AND SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS

RISKS

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Presentation of LINKAGES as a whole

• People and roles
• Abstractness, vagueness and social dynamics
• Work program - studies and people
• Introduction of onboard researchers and students
• Comments of the advisory board

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AIM OF TODAY�

Dr. Claudia Mazzuca

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• 2020 · PhD in Cognitive Science, University of Bologna, Supervisor: Roberto Nicoletti

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• 2018 · Visiting PhD student, University of Nijmegen, Supervisor: Asifa Majid

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• 2019 - 2020 · Research Associate, University of York, Supervisor: Asifa Majid

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• 2021 - · Postdoctoral Researcher, Sapienza University, Supervisor: Anna Borghi

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Professional service

• 2021 – 2024 · Governing Board Member Italian Reproducibility Network

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• 2025 - · Vice President Italian Association of Cognitive Science

claudia.mazzuca@uniroma1.it

My Academic Path

My Research Interests

CONCEPTUAL VARIABILITY

• Individual level: individual experiences (e.g., gender identity) and expertise (e.g., education or scientific background)

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• Collective level: language/linguistic interactions and culture

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Behavioural (e.g., RTs; categorisation tasks; sorting tasks) and psycholinguistic (e.g., free-listing, ratings) methods

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Dyads drawing pictionary task (WP1)

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Target stimuli: abstract vs concrete concepts repeated within each session

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• N. of turns to converge on a shared symbol system;
• Objective measure of drawings’ similarity
• External drawings’ similarity ratings;
• Confidence measures

(WP5)

Cross-linguistic

Borghi, A. M., Mazzuca, C., & Tummolini, L. (2025). The role of social interaction in the formation and use of abstract concepts. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1-14.

Mazzuca, C., De Livio, C., Mirabella, M., Giovanardi, G., Borghi, A.M. (in press). Norms for Gender-Inclusive Role Nouns in Italian: The GIRN-I Database. Behavior Research Methods

Mazzuca, C., Villani, C*., Lamarra, T., Bolognesi, M. M., & Borghi, A. M. (2025). Abstractness impacts conversational dynamics. Cognition, 258, 106084.

Mazzuca, C., Arcovito, M., Falcinelli, I., Fini, C., & Borghi, A. M. (2025). Water Is and Is Not H₂O, Depending on Who You Ask: Conceptualizations of Water Vary Across Chemists and Laypeople. Cognitive Science, 49(8), e70094.

Mazzuca, C., Borghi, A.M., van Putten, S., Lugli, L., Nicoletti, R. & Majid, A. (2024). Gender is conceptualized in different ways across cultures. Language and Cognition, 16(2), 1-27. doi: 10.1017/langcog.2023.40.

Key related publications

Matteo Tacconelli

PhD in Physics - Sapienza University of Rome

Role of abstract concepts in social dynamics

PI: Anna Borghi, Vittorio Loreto

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Aim:

Develop a quantitative framework to investigate the semantics of abstract

concepts using tools from statistical physics and complex systems

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Background:

• Soft Matter
• Statistical Physics
• Numerical Simulations

A transversal role within LINKAGES

A multidimensional view of concepts

CONCEPT

Abstractness

Socialness

Complexity

Vagueness

Specificity

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Mathematical representation

Quantification

Data

Methods

Goals

• Corpora

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• Scientific literature

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• Online data

• Word embeddings

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• Semantic networks

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• Clustering

• Quantification

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• Comparison across

groups

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• Dynamic modelling

Thank you for your attention

Dr. Chiara De Livio

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• 2019-2022. Master Degree in Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Supervisor: Prof. Anna M. Borghi

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• 2023-ongoing. PhD in Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Supervisor: Prof. Anna M. Borghi

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• 2024, 2025-2026. Visiting PhD student at Durham University, Supervisor: Prof. Charles Fernyhough

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chiara.delivio@uniroma1.it

My Academic Path

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How people use language to interact with themselves and with others

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• Inner Speech

Do people use inner speech to process semantic information?

Does its role differ for abstract, concrete, and vague concepts?

Do people use it differently in social, interactive contexts than when alone?

Can we rely on embodied cues to detect inner speech?

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• Social Interactions

Do people align more linguistically on abstract concepts?

Can gesture and coordination reveal more about that alignment?

My Research Interest

Investigating role of inner and social dynamics during learning/teaching

concepts varying in abstractness and vagueness. 

Task: Conceptual definition; alone vs. with an expert�

Experimental stimuli: Abstract/Concrete and Vague/Determinate concepts

�Measures:

• Ongoing inner experience (random probes extracted from Varieties of Inner Speech Questionnaire-Revised; Internal Representation Questionnaire)

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• Behavioral measures: eye-tracking, gestures and movement analysis; mouse tracking

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• Linguistic alignment between explainer/teacher and learner

• De Livio, C., Gervasi, A. M., Falcinelli, I., Fini, C., Maggio, F., Brozzoli, C., & Borghi, A. M. (2026). Variability and methodological choices in articulatory suppression tasks: a review. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, 1736170.

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• De Livio, C., & Borghi, A. M. (2025). Multimodal abstract concepts: the transformative role of gestures and language. Sistemi intelligenti, 37(2), 229-244.

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• De Livio, C., Borghi, A. M., & Fernyhough, C. (2025). Inner speech is not a simulation of language but an act of speaking: Comment on" The Sound of Thought: Form Matters-The Prosody of Inner Speech" by Hamutal Kreiner, Zohar Eviatar. Physics of life reviews, 53, 218-220.

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• De Livio, C., Mazzuca, C., Bellagamba, F., Gennaro, A., Mazzoni, G., Mazzoni, S., ... & Borghi, A. (2026). Multimodal Dynamics in Learning and Explaining Abstract and Concrete Concepts: A Triadic Interactive Task with Families.

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• De Livio, C., Mazzuca, C., Chillura, V., & Borghi, A. (2025). Interactive Dynamics with Concepts Varying in Abstractness and Vagueness. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (Vol. 47).

Key Related Publications

• Dr. Ilenia Falcinelli

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• 2022-2025. PhD in Psychology and Social Neuroscience at Sapienza University of Rome, Supervisor: Professor Anna M. Borghi

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• 2024. Visiting PhD student at University College Cork, Ireland, Supervisors: Professor Annalisa Setti & Professor Jason Chan

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• 2025-2026. Post-Doctoral Researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, P.I.: Professor Anna M. Borghi

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• Now. 2-years Post-Doc position in the FIS LINKAGES project (WP2 - WP3)

Ilenia.falcinelli@uniroma1.it

My Academic Path

• Investigating how people and different generations (older, younger adults) conceptualize climate change and technological progress.

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• Comparison of Ecological (e.g., pollution) and Technological (e.g., Internet) with more Abstract (e.g., democracy) and Concrete (e.g., table) concepts.

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→ Behavioral paradigms: semantic fluency tasks (free-listing, feature generation), rating, categorization, feature verification tasks.

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→ EEG methodology for Event-Related Potentials.

My Research Interest

My Recent Research Interest

• Possibility to use the hyperscanning methodology (mobile EEGs) to study abstract concepts’ acquisition and use during social interactions.

• Aim: investigating the importance of social interactions for more abstract and vague concepts’ acquisition (WP2) and use (WP3).

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• Tasks: interactive, conversational → pairs of participants conversate in order to teach/learn (WP2 – asymmetric situation) or negotiate (WP3 – symmetric situation) a definition for a concept.

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• Experimental stimuli: Abstract/Concrete and Vague/Determinate concepts

• Setting: Face-to-face interactions, neurotypical adults

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• Follow-ups:

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• Face-to-face vs. Online interactions
• Neurotypical vs. Autistic people

• Measures:

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• Synchronization

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• Ratings on the quality of the conversation (e.g., conversation pleasantness, intimacy, and fluency, feeling of learning, and confidence)

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• Content of the conversation

Revised picture from De Felice et al., 2025

• Falcinelli, I., Fini, C., Mazzuca, C., & Borghi, A. (2026). Age Cohort Variability in Conceptual Complexity and Concreteness: The Case of Ecological and Technological Concepts. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 48. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5px9p1w0

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• Falcinelli, I., Fini, C., & Borghi, A. M. (2025a) Abstractness and Social Interaction Through a New Lens: The Potentialities of Hyperscanning in Naturalistic Settings. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 19, 1724845. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2025.1724845

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• Falcinelli, I., Fini, C., Mazzuca, C., Alessandri, G., Alivernini, F., Baiocco, R., Chirico, A., Filosa, L., Palombi, T., Pistella, J., Tavolucci, S., Lucidi, F., & Borghi, A.M. (2025b). Thinking climate change through the lens of abstractness: a multi-task and multi-setting investigation into generational differences in the conceptualization of ecology. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 10(1), 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-025-00689-4

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• Fini, C., Era, V., Cuomo, G., Falcinelli, I., Gervasi, A. M., Candidi, M., Mazzuca, C., Liuzza, M. T., Winter, B., & Borghi, A. M. (2025). Digital connection, real bonding: Brief online chats boost interpersonal closeness regardless of the conversational topic. Heliyon, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42526

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• Falcinelli, I., Fini, C., Mazzuca, C., & Borghi, A. M. (2024a). The TECo Database: Ecological and Technological Concepts at the Interface Between Abstractness and Concreteness. Collabra: Psychology, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.120327

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• Falcinelli, I., Fini, C., Mazzuca, C., Alessandri, G., Alivernini, F., Baiocco, R., Chirico, A., Filosa, L., Palombi, T., Pistella, J., Tavolucci, S., Lucidi, F., & Borghi, A.M. (2024b). What does “Internet” mean to us as we age? A multi-task investigation on the conceptualization of the technological domain across generations. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 16, 100531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100531

My Key Recent and Related Publications

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Antonio Pio Afragola

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2021-2023 - Master’s Degree in Cognitive Neuroscience

Department of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome

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2024-2026 - Research Assistant

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome

(Supervisor: Prof. Claudio Babiloni)

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From November 2026 –

PhD Student at the Body, Action and Language Lab Department of Dynamic, Clinical Psychology and Health, Sapienza University of Rome

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My Accademic Path and Research Experience

• Theses: Joint-Action Task Modulates Visuo-Tactile Integration

(Supervisor: Prof. Matteo Candidi)

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• Investigating correlations between biomarkers (rsEEG) and digital markers (SmartWatch Telemonitoring and Cognitive Games) in subjects with neurodegenerative diseases and throughout the lifespan.

Inner and Social Dynamics – Wp2 and Wp3

• Core Research Interests

• Theoretical And

Practical Experience

Learning and Negotiation

Behavioral and Neural Dynamics underlying social interactions and the downstream effects of the interactions themselves.

Social Interaction Paradigms, EEG acquisition and Signal Processing

• Cuomo, G., Afragola, A. P., Pesci, U. G., Era, V., & Candidi, M. (2026). Interpersonal motor coordination Modulates Visuo-Tactile integration. iScience

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• Del Percio, C., Lizio, R., De Bartolo, M., Carpi, M., Noce, G., Lopez, S., Afragola, A. P., Fiorentino, F., Carducci, F., Henao Isaza, V., Barone, P., Cappiello, A., Di Filippo, F., Riemma, D., Costanzo, G., Cauzzo, S., Fiorenzato, E., Vianello, F., Stocchi, F., Coletti, C., … Babiloni, C. (2026). Performance of the SmartMe&You serious video games for home telemonitoring is related to cognitive status and resting-state electroencephalographic markers in healthy and Parkinson's disease participants. GeroScience

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• Carpi, M., De Bartolo, M., Henao Isaza, V., Noce, G., Del Percio, C., Lopez, S., Carducci, F., Lizio, R., Afragola, A. P., Bölükbaş, B., Fiorentino, F., Barone, A., Cappiello, A., Di Filippo, F., Riemma, D., Costanzo, G., Biundo, R., Cauzzo, S., Fiorenzato, E., Vianello, F., … Babiloni, C. (2026). Associations of daily step counts with cognitive, clinical, and resting-state electroencephalographic measures in patients with cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease. GeroScience

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• Carpi, M., Afragola, A. P., De Bartolo, M., Lopez, S., Bölükbaş, B., Del Percio, C., Henao Isaza, V., Lizio, R., Noce, G., Barjami, L., Carducci, F., Soricelli, A., Salvatore, M., Giubilei, F., Güntekin, B., Yener, G., Massa, F., Arnaldi, D., Famà, F., Pardini, M., … Babiloni, C. (2026). Abnormal periodic and aperiodic resting-state electroencephalographic markers in Lewy body and Alzheimer's diseases with cognitive decline. GeroScience

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• Carpi, M., Henao Isaza, V., Noce, G., Salamone, E. M., Del Percio, C., Lopez, S., Carducci, F., Lizio, R., De Bartolo, M., Jakhar, D., Afragola, A. P., Rossi, C., Barjami, L., Soricelli, A., Salvatore, M., Giubilei, F., Güntekin, B., Yener, G., Massa, F., Arnaldi, D., … Babiloni, C. (2026). Periodic and Aperiodic Electroencephalographic Rhythms During Vigilance Transitions in Alzheimer's Disease Mild Cognitive Impairment. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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My Recent Publications

• Dr. Mara Stockner

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• 2026 Postdoctoral Researcher in Cognitive Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome

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• 2022-2025 PhD in Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Supervisor: Professor Giuliana Mazzoni

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• 2025 Visiting PhD student at University of Kent (UK), Supervisor: Professor Zara Bergstrom

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• 2023 Research assistant at University of Turin

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mara.stockner@uniroma1.it

My Academic Path

Embodied memory

• sensorimotor simulations and memory enhancement
• contextual and linguistic factors impacting action (false) memory

Metacognitive processes involved in (embodied) memory

• accuracy-confidence relationship in episodic memory
• metacognitive awareness of implicit motor memory

Cognitive processing of AI-generated content

• social evaluations of AI (vs. real) content
• mental simulations elicited by AI-generated content

My Research Interest

Behavioral paradigms

memory paradigms, perception, detection, ratings

Physiological paradigms

eyetracking, HRV, kinematic analysis, TMS

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• Aim: investigating knowledge outsourcing to human vs. AI experts (i.e., LLMs) and the impact on metacognition

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• Task: acquiring different types of concepts through LLMs vs. human experts (e.g., teacher)

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• Experimental stimuli: Abstract/Concrete and Vague/Determinate concepts

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• Setting: School-context (developmental perspective)

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• Measures:

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• Acquired definitions (e.g., accuracy, length)�
• Number of follow-up questions�
• Concept-specific metacognition (e.g., confidence, judgments of learning/knowing)

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• Metacognitive abilities (Metacognitive Awareness Inventory)

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Key recent and related publications

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Stockner, M., Convertino, G. & Mazzoni, G. (2026, under review). (Un)predictable false memories: the role of sensorimotor language prediction in episodic memory. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-10920568/v1

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Stockner, M., Mazzoni, G., Enrici, I. & Ianì, F. (2026). Embodied simulations improve memory, but which is the most effective? The crucial role of action observation and its dynamic interplay with motor imagery ability. Frontiers in Psychology.

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Stockner, M., Convertino, G., Marchetti, M., Corvitto, L., Maiano, L., Papa, L., … Mazzoni, G. (2026). The More Attractive the More Real? Cognitive Processes Involved in Deepfake Detection in Young and Older Adults. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2026.2708442

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Stockner, M., Convertino, G., Cambedda, S., & Mazzoni, G. (2026). Can humans discriminate between real and deepfake faces? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans.

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Stockner, M., Mazzoni, G., & Ianì, F. (2025). Are fluent letter dyads really fluent? An update on objective and subjective motor fluency in an Italian student population. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 10(1), 42.

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Stockner, M., Mazzoni, G., Perrin, D., & Ianì, F. (2025). The same label, different processes: What lies behind the term “mental simulation” in the embodied cognition literature? Brain and Cognition, 188, 106335.

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My academic path

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• Russell Neil Eaton
• Cognitive neuroscience student at Sapienza;
• Intern student at ISTC-CNR

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• Semantic representation of abstractness/concreteness and vagueness/determinacy

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Supervisors

My Research Project

• Distribution of vague and determinate concepts divided in abstract/concrete concepts in multidimensional space.

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• Stefano Nolfi & Anna Borghi.

Focus

Methodology

• Utilizing word embeddings to map latent relationships.

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Presentation of LINKAGES as a whole

• People and roles
• Abstractness, vagueness and social dynamics
• Work program - studies and people
• Introduction of onboard researchers and students
• Comments of the advisory board

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AIM OF TODAY�