We aim at understanding how our brain responds to music, and how music can stimulate our brain.
We are interested in music-driven perception, movement, emotion, reward and memory processes.
How
Behavioral, Neuroimaging and Neurostimulation approaches in laboratory and ecological settings
Where
Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Pavia University, Italy
Team
We are a dynamic young group studying timely topics in the field of music cognition. We are based in one of the world’s most beautiful and ancient academic realities, Pavia University.
Principal Investigators
Laura Ferreri
Professor (Associate)
I am a cognitive neuroscientist and Associate Professor in the Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Pavia, where I teach the Psychology and Neuroscience of Music. I hold an M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience (San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy) and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology (EBRAMUS Marie Curie ITN Program, Université de Bourgogne in Dijon, France). After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Barcelona and a teaching position at Université Lumière Lyon 2, I joined the University of Pavia to advance research in music science. My work focuses on the interplay between music, reward, and memory through behavioral, neuroimaging, and neuropharmacological approaches. I am passionate about sharing the neuroscience of music with wider audiences through dissemination events.
Carlotta Lega
Professor (Assistant)
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Pavia. My research focuses on the psychology and neuroscience of music, with particular emphasis on brain plasticity and auditory–motor integration mechanisms involved in music listening and learning. I combine behavioral approaches with non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to investigate how the brain integrates sound and movement. I hold a PhD in Linguistics, Experimental Psychology, and Cognitive Neuroscience (University of Milano-Bicocca), as well as a Master’s degree in Psychology and a Piano Diploma from the Pavia Conservatory.
Research Team
Eleonora Fullone
PhD Student
I graduated in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Human Sciences at the University of Pavia and, after a year of postgraduate internship, I started a PhD course in Cognitive Brain Sciences at the School for Advanced Studies in Pavia. I also graduated in cello (at the Lecce Conservatory, Italy) and obtained a Master’s in Music Pedagogy (at the Lugano Conservatory, Switzerland), allowing me to have years of teaching experience. To combine the two fields of study, my current PhD research project is on Neuroscience of music specifically focused on rhythm and rhythmic abilities, memory, and musical hedonia in both musicians and non-musicians.
Giorgio Lazzari
PhD Student
After completing my studies in Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology in the Life Span at the University of Milano-Bicocca, I began my PhD in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Data Science at the University of Pavia. My current research focuses on rhythmic processes, specifically investigating beat perception and imagery using non-invasive neurostimulation techniques, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Additionally, I am exploring auditory-motor synchronization through finger tapping tasks, examining both social and clinical perspectives of rhythm production.
Federico Curzel
Postdoctoral Fellow
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Brain and Behavior Department, University of Pavia, working with the Laboratory of Psychology of Aging (LabPsI) and the MusiCognition Lab. With a multidisciplinary background in Pharmaceutical Chemistry (M.Sc., University of Padova, Italy, 2018), Music Therapy (1 year, Istituto Musicale Città di Thiene, 2018), and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology (University Lumière Lyon 2, France, 2024), I specialized in exploring interactions between music, social sharing and the brain. My research, using behavioral approaches and neuroimaging techniques (fNIRS and hyperscanning), examines how music and social context modulate social behavior (prosociality), affective responses (reward|emotions), cognitive functions (e.g., memory), and interpersonal neural synchronization.
Lilya Abergel
PhD Student
After completing a Master’s degree in Cognitive Science (Cogmaster – ENS-PSL, Université Paris Cité, EHESS) in Paris, I am currently pursuing a PhD in collaboration with the MusiCognition Lab (University of Pavia) and the Institut Jean-Nicod (École Normale Supérieure, Paris). My research focuses on how music can modulate mental states, specifically exploring the mechanisms underlying music-driven absorption. I investigate how music can induce states of deep absorption, exploring both cases where it directs attention inward, as in the case of mind-wandering episodes while listening to music, or outward, in the form of sustained attention on an external object of consciousness.
Federica Biondi
PhD Student
After graduating with a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Pavia, I joined a PhD programme in Cognitive Brain Sciences in collaboration with the University of Pavia and the IUSS School for Advanced Studies of Pavia. My research focuses on the brain’s ability to form temporal predictions from rhythmic patterns, particularly sounds that occur with different statistical probabilities. Specifically, my project employs neurostimulation techniques, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), to explore how auditory expectations and rhythm processing shape cortical excitability.
Colin Van Der Ende
Visiting student
I am a Research Master’s student in Cognitive Neuroscience at Maastricht University. My academic training includes a solid foundation in statistical methods and data analysis from my bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Neuropsychology . I am particularly interested in how large-scale neural networks support the perception and conscious experience of auditory information. Currently, I am conducting my Master’s research with Professor Ferreri at the University of Pavia, where I study how transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can shape the subjective experience of music.
Maaike Weevers
Visiting student
I am a second year Master’s student of the research Master, Brain & Cognitive Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. Before this, I graduated from the Bachelor’s Psychobiology at the same university. I am joining the Musicognition Lab in Pavia to do my final internship project before graduating, and I hope to learn more about the effects of music on our internal states.
Research
Scientific Papers
2026
François C, Ferreri L, Ripollés P, Garcia-Alix A, Rodriguez-Fornells A, Bosch L. (2026) Evidence for a role of memory in novel word-learning after perinatal stroke. Brain and Language, 274, 105707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2026.105707
Spiech, C., Martínez, M. G., Lazzari, G. & Penhune, V. (2026). Continuous Theta Burst to Supplementary Motor Area Modulates Groove. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.70186
2025
Grassi, M., Talamini, F., Altoè, G., […], Ferreri, L., […] Fullone, E., et al. (2025). Do musicians have better short-term memory than nonmusicians? A multilab study. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 8(4), 25152459251379432. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459251379432
Lazzari, G., Ferreri, L., Cattaneo, L., Penhune, V., & Lega, C. (2025). Imagining the beat: causal evidence for dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC) role in beat imagery via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). NeuroImage, 323, 121593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121593
Ferreri, L., & Tillmann, B. (2025). I Gotta Feeling: Beyond Major and Minor dichotomy in music emotions. Physics of Life Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plrev.2025.05.006
Curzel, F., Tillmann, B., Fournel, A., Novembre, G., & Ferreri, L. (2025). Joint music listening enhances interpersonal affective and neural synchrony. Osf Preprint. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/xf9te_v1
Fullone, E., Lazzari, G., Lega, C., Ferreri, L. (2025). Music Under the Lens of Neuroscience. In: Raglio, A. (eds) Music and Music Therapy Interventions in Clinical Practice. Neurocultural Health and Wellbeing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-88578-5_3
Lazzari, G., Costantini, G., La Rocca, S., Massironi, A., Cattaneo, L., Penhune, V., & Lega, C. (2025). Topography of Functional Organization of Beat Perception in Human Premotor Cortex: Causal Evidence from a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Study. Human brain mapping, 46(7), e70225. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70225
Carraturo, G., Ferreri, L., Cardona, G., Lorenzo-Seva, U., Rodriguez-Fornells, A., & Brattico, E. (2025). The Italian version of the extended Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (eBMRQ): a validation study and association with age, gender, and musicianship. PeerJ, 13, e18403. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18403
2024
Curzel, F., Tillmann, B., & Ferreri, L. (2024). Lights on music cognition: a systematic and critical review of fNIRS applications and future perspectives. Brain and Cognition, 180, 106200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106200
Lazzari, G., Sacheli, L. M., Benoit, C. E., Lega, C., & Van Vugt, F. T. (2024). Pleasantness makes a good time: musical consonance shapes interpersonal synchronization in dyadic joint action. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 18, 1472632. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1472632
Ferreri, L., (2024) Musique, émotions et plaisir. Musique, sciences et santé. E. Bigand, G. Mick. Dunod Eds. [Book Chapter]
Curzel, F., Osiurak, F., Tran, E., Tillmann, B., Ripollés, P., Ferreri, L. (2024). Enhancing musical pleasure through shared musical experience. iScience, 27(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.109964
Ginzburg, J., Cheylus, A., Collard, E., Ferreri, L., Tillmann, B., Moulin, A., & Caclin, A. (2024). Role of the prefrontal cortex in musical and verbal short-term memory: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study. Imaging Neuroscience. 2, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1162/imag_a_00168
Lazzari, G., van de Vorst, R., van Vugt, F. T., & Lega, C. (2024). Subtle Patterns of Altered Responsiveness to Delayed Auditory Feedback during Finger Tapping in People Who Stutter. Brain Sciences, 14(5), 472. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14050472
Ferreri, L., Van Vugt, F., Bégel, V., Albouy, P., Lega, C., & Benoit, C. É. (2024). Future Directions in the Psychology of Music. Advances in Cognitive Psychology (Editorial), 19(4), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.5709/acp-0410-9
Massironi, A., Lazzari, G., La Rocca, S., Ronconi, L., Daini, R., & Lega, C. (2024). Transcranial magnetic stimulation on the right dorsal attention network modulates the center-surround profile of the attentional focus. Cerebral Cortex, 34(2), bhae015. 10.1093/cercor/bhae015
2023
Lippolis, M., Carraturo, G., Ferreri, L., Vuust, P., Müllensiefen, D., Matarelli, B., & Brattico, E. (2023). Sensitivity to social reward in music behavior changes after music training in preadolescence. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 19(4), 106-125.https://doi.org/10.5709/acp-0409-z
Navarro, J., Gaujoux, V., Ouimet, M. C., Ferreri, L., & Reynaud, E. (2023). How does background music affect drivers’ behaviours, emotions and mood behind the wheel?. Transportation research part F: traffic psychology and behaviour, 98, 47-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2023.08.003
Labaronne, M., Ferreri, L., & Plancher, G. (2023). How do intentions modulate the effect of working memory on long-term memory?. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02381-4
Fiveash, A., Ferreri, L.*, Bouwer, F. L., Kösem, A., Moghimi, S., Ravignani, A., et al.. (2023). Can rhythm-mediated reward boost learning, memory, and social connection? Perspectives for future research. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 105153 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105153
Curzel, F., Carraturo, G., Ripollés, P., & Ferreri, L. (2023). Better Off Alone? When Sharing Music Reduces Pleasure Responses. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 19(4). https://doi.org/10.5709/acp-0410-9
Mas‐Herrero, E., Ferreri, L., Cardona, G., Zatorre, R. J., Pla‐Juncà, F., Antonijoan, R. M., et al. (2023). The role of opioid transmission in music‐induced pleasure. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1520(1), 105-114. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14946
2022
Mas‐Herrero, E., Singer, N., Ferreri, L., McPhee, M., Zatorre, R. J., & Ripollés, P. (2022). Music engagement is negatively correlated with depressive symptoms during the COVID‐19 pandemic via reward‐related mechanisms. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1519(1), 186-198. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14931
Ferreri, L., & Rodriguez‐Fornells, A. (2022). Memory modulations through musical pleasure. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14867
Benoit, C. E., Ferreri, L., Lega, C., & van Vugt, F. T. (2022). Rhythm in human cognition and action: Health and pathology. Frontiers in Psychology (Editorial), 13, 1047825. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1047825
Cardona, G., Ferreri, L., Lorenzo-Seva, U., Russo, F., Rodriguez-Fornells, A., (2022). The forgotten role of absorption in music reward. Annals of the New York Academy of Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14790
Ferreri, L., Versace, R., Victor, C., Plancher, G. (2022). Temporal predictions in space: isochronous rhythms promote forward projections of the body. Frontiers in Psychology, 1657. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.832322
Carraturo G., Ferreri, L., Vuust, P., Matera, F., Brattico, E. (2022). Empathy but not musicality is at the root of musical reward: A behavioral study with adults and children. Psychology of Music, https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356221081168
Lega, C., Cattaneo, L., & Costantini, G. (2022). How to test the association between baseline performance level and the modulatory effects of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 16, 920558. 10.3389/fnhum.2022.920558
Massetti, G., Lega, C., Cattaneo, Z., Gallace, A., & Vallar, G. (2022). Exploring the effects of brain stimulation on musical taste: TDCS on the left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex—a null result. Brain Sciences, 12(4), 467. 10.3390/brainsci12040467
Granot, R., Spitz, D. H., Cherki, B. R., Loui, P., Timmers, R., Schaefer, R. S., Lega, C., … & Israel, S. (2022). “Help! I need somebody”: music as a global resource for obtaining wellbeing goals in times of crisis. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 648013. 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648013