Gabriella Bottini

Gabriella Bottini is a Full Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pavia's Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Cognitive Neuropsychology Center at ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda in Milan. She serves as Delegate with responsibility for the University's Third Mission activities and coordinates the PhD program in 'Psychology, Neuroscience and Data Science' at the University of Pavia.

Her research focuses on neuropsychological disorders associated with brain lesions and neurodegenerative diseases, with particular expertise in graceful ageing and dementia, cognition in drug resistant epilepsy, physiological and pathological body representation, human vestibular system, motor awareness, and neurolaw. Bottini pioneered groundbreaking work mapping central vestibular projections (published in Nature, 1995) and defining the anatomical bases of anosognosia for hemiplegia (published in Science, 2001), demonstrating that action awareness is implemented in the same network responsible for the primary function being monitored.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent research trajectory examining body representation, interoception, and risk processing. Her work increasingly integrates cognitive neuroscience with clinical applications, particularly in epilepsy, dementia, and rehabilitation following stroke. She employs diverse methodologies including intracranial electrical stimulation, rTMS, and neuroimaging to investigate the neural correlates of consciousness and body awareness.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Coordinator of the Italian constituency of the International Neuropsychological Symposium (INS)
• Coordinator of the Scientific Advisory Board of Neuropsychology of Epilepsy study group of LICE
• President of the European Association for Neuroscience and Law (2016-2019)
• Member of multiple scientific advisory boards including NeuroMi and SINdem

With over 170 peer-reviewed publications and an H-index of 36, Professor Bottini serves as a reviewer for numerous journals and funding agencies. She has been invited to speak at more than 200 national and international scientific meetings, including prestigious venues such as the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and the University of Geneva. Her TEDx talk on the interplay between Neuroscience and Art demonstrates her commitment to science communication and interdisciplinary approaches.

She leads the Cognitive Neuropsychology Center at Niguarda Hospital, where her team investigates the neural basis of body representation disorders and develops innovative approaches to rehabilitation following brain injury.