Alfredo Spagna

Alfredo Spagna is a Lecturer in the Discipline of Psychology at Columbia University and serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Neuroscience & Behavior Major, Director of Undergraduate Research, and Co-Director of the STAR Program. He earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, and Psychophysiology from Sapienza University of Rome in 2014.

• Education: Ph.D., Sapienza University of Rome, 2014

His research investigates the cognitive and neural mechanisms of human attention and mental imagery, focusing on the interplay between frontoparietal networks and high-level visual regions. Methodologies include behavioral experiments, 3T/7T fMRI, MEG, sEEG, and mobile EEG. Current projects test a heterarchical model of visual mental imagery and examine attentional networks in social/non-social stimuli processing.

Recent publications explore attentional reorienting in visual perception, cognitive control in depression, and interdisciplinary applications of neuroimaging. As a mentor, he guides undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students in academic and research endeavors, emphasizing collaborative and inclusive environments.

He founded The Living Lab, an interdisciplinary initiative integrating neuroscience, journalism, theater, and philosophy to address societally relevant topics such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training efficacy and attentional mechanisms in mental imagery.