Cristina Becchio

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Cristina Becchio is Senior Researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology (C’MON – Cognition, Motion and Neuroscience Unit), Genoa, and Professor at the Psychology Department, University of Turin. After studying philosophy at the University of Turin, in 2001 she joined a PhD Program in Cognitive Science. In 2004 she moved on to a post-doctoral work on cognitive neuroscience and has since then been working on motor cognition. Her research focuses on the control and perception of complex body motion during human social interaction, specifically upon the ability to decode others’  mental states from movement observation.  In 2013 she started as Principal Investigator a five-year project on “Intention-from-movement understanding” (I.Move.U) funded by the ERC, ERC-St-2012.

 

Research Interests

Motor cognition
Social intentionality, action and intention representation
Mechanisms underlying the ability to create a shared world
Temporal cognition and role of temporal mechanisms in object processing
Kinematics, Neuroimaging (fMRI)

 

Selected Publications

2017

Cavallo, A., Ansuini, C., Gori, M., Tinti, C., Tonelli, A., Becchio, C. (2017).
Anticipatory action planning in blind and sighted individuals.
Scientific Reports, 7:44617, doi: 10.1038/srep44617

Cavallo, A., Ansuini, C., Capozzi, F., Tversky, B., Becchio, C. (2017).
When far becomes near: perspective taking induces social remapping of spatial relations.
Psychological Science, 28(1), 69-79, doi: 10.1177/0956797616672464

Ansuini, C., Podda, J., Battaglia, F. M., Veneselli, E., Becchio, C. (epub ahead of print)
One hand, two hands, two people: Prospective sensorimotor control in children with autism.
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Mar 2, doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.02.009

Ronga, I., Sarasso, P., Raineri, F., Duhamel, J. R., Becchio, C. (epub ahead of print)
Leftward oculomotor prismatic training induces a rightward bias in normal subjects.
Experimental Brain Research, Mar 11, doi: 10.1007/s00221-017-4934-3

2016

Cavallo, A., Koul, A., Ansuini, C., Capozzi, F., Becchio, C. (2016).
Decoding intentions from movement kinematics.
Scientific reports, Nov 15;6:37036. doi: 10.1038/srep37036.

Koul, A., Cavallo, A., Ansuini, C., Becchio C. (2016).
Doing it your way: how individual movement styles affect action prediction.
PLoS One, Oct 25;11(10):e0165297. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165297.

Ansuini, C., Cavallo, A., Campus, C., Quarona, D., Koul A., Becchio C. (2016)
Are we real when we fake? Attunement to object weight in natural and pantomimed grasping movements.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, 471, doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00471

Ansuini*, C., Cavallo*, A., Koul, A., D’Ausilio, A., Taverna, L., & Becchio, C. (2016).
Grasping others’ movements: rapid discrimination of objects size from observed hand movements.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 42(7), 918-29. doi: 10.1037/xhp0000169.

von der Lühe T.*, Manera V.*, Barisic I., Becchio C., Vogeley K., Schilbach L. (2016).
Interpersonal predictive coding, not action perception is impaired in autism.
Philosophical Transactions B of the Royal Society, 371, 1-8. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0373.

Capozzi, F., Becchio, C., Willemse, C., Bayliss, AP. (2016).
Followers are not followed: Observed group interactions modulate subsequent social attention.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145(5):531-5. doi: 10.1037/xge0000167.

Ansuini, C, Cavallo, A, Pia, L, & Becchio, C. (2016).
The role of perspective in mental time travel.
Neural Plasticity. 2016:3052741. doi: 10.1155/2016/3052741.

Capozzi, F, Becchio, C, Garbarini, F, Savazzi, S, & Pia, L. (2016). 
Temporal perception in joint action: this is MY action.
Consciousness and Cognition, 40, 26-33. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.12.004

Furlanetto T., Becchio C., Samson D., & Apperly, I. (2016).
Altercentric interference in level 1 visual perspective taking reflects the ascription of mental states, not submentalizing. 
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 42(2), 158-163. doi: 10.1037/xhp0000138.

2015

Sciutti A., Ansuini C., Becchio C., & Sandini G. (2015).
Investigating the ability to read others’ intentions using humanoid robots.
Frontiers in Psychology, 6

Cavallo A., Lungu O., Becchio C., Ansuini C., Rustichini A., & Fadiga L. (2015).
When gaze opens the channel for communication: integrative role of IFG and MPFC.
Neuroimage, 119, 63-69

Cavallo A., Ansuini C., & Becchio C. (2015).
The (un)coupling between action execution and observation.
Phisics of life reviews, 12, 129

Capozzi F., Bayliss A.P., Elena M.R., & Becchio C. (2015).
One is not enough: Group size modulates social gaze-induced object desirability effects.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 22 (3), 850-855

Ansuini C., Cavallo A., Koul A., Jacono M., Yang Y., & Becchio C. (2015).
Predicting object size from hand kinematics: a temporal perspective.
PLoS One, 10(3), e0120432

Ansuini C., Cavallo A., Bertone C., & Becchio C. (2015).
Intentions in the brain: The unveiling of Mister Hyde.
The Neuroscientist, 21(2), 126-135

Capozzi F., Tirassa M., & Becchio C. (2015).
Beyond dyads: The study of social cognition from labs to organizations. (in Italian)
Sistemi intelligenti, 27(1), 45-60.

Okruszek Ł., Haman M., Kalinowski K., Talarowska M., Becchio C., & Manera V. (2015).
Impaired recognition of communicative interactions from biological motion in schizophrenia.
PLoS One, 10, e0116793.

2014

Capozzi F., Cavallo A., Furlanetto T., & Becchio C. (2014).
Altercentric intrusions from multiple perspectives: Beyond dyads.
PLoS One, 9, e114210.

Ansuini C., Cavallo A., Bertone C., & Becchio C. (2014).
The visible face of intention: why kinematics matters.
Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 815.

Becchio C., Zanatto D., Straulino E., Cavallo A. , Sartori G., Castiello C. (2014).
The kinematic signature of voluntary actions.
Neuropsychologia, 64, 169-175.

Cavallo A., Catmur C., Sowden S., Ianì F., & Becchio C. (2014).
Stopping movements: when others slow us down.
European Journal of Neuroscience, 40, 2842-2849.

Cavallo A., Heyes C., Becchio C., Bird G., & Catmur C. (2014).
Timecourse of mirror and counter-mirror effects measured with transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9, 1082-1088.

Ciaramidaro A., Becchio C., Colle L., Bara B.G., & Walter H. (2014).
Communicative intentions recruit the mirror and the mentalizing system.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9, 909-916.

Furlanetto T., Gallace A., Ansuini C., & Becchio C. (2014).
Effects of arm crossing on spatial perspective taking.
PLoS ONE, 9, e95748.

Manera V., Elena M.R., Bayliss A.P., & Becchio C. (2014).
When seeing is more than looking: Intentional gaze modulates object desirability.
Emotion, 14, 824-832.

2013

Becchio, C., Del Giudice, M., Dal Monte, O., Latini-Corazzini, L., & Pia, L. (2013).
In your place: Neuropsychological evidence for altercentric remapping in embodied perspective taking. 
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 8, 165-170.
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Cavallo A., Bucchioni G., Castiello U., & Becchio C. (2013).
Goal or movement? Action representation within the primary motor cortex. 
European Journal of Neuroscience, 38, 3507-3512.

Furlanetto T., Cavallo A., Manera V., Tversky B., & Becchio C. (2013).
Through your eyes: Incongruence of gaze and action increases spontaneous perspective. 
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 455.

Furlanetto, T., Bertone, C., & Becchio, C. (2013).
The bilocated mind: new perspectives on self location and self identification.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 71.

Manera V., Schouten B., Verfaillie K., & Becchio C. (2013).
Time will show: Real time predictions during interpersonal action perception. 
PLoS One, 8, e54949.

2012

Becchio C. & Castiello U. (2012).
Visuomotor resonance in autism spectrum disorders. 
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 6, 110.

Becchio C., Cavallo A., Begliomini C., Sartori L., Feltrin G., & Castiello U. (2012).
Social grasping: from mirroring to mentalizing. 
NeuroImage, 61, 240-248.

Becchio C., Manera V., Sartori L., Cavallo A., & Castiello U. (2012).
Grasping intentions: from thought experiments to empirical evidence. 
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, 117.

Cavallo, A., Becchio, C., Sartori, L., Bucchioni, G., & Castiello, U. (2012).
Grasping with Tools: Corticospinal excitability reflects observed hand movements. 
Cerebral Cortex, 22, 710-716.

Manera V., Cavallo A., Chiavarino C., Schouten B., Verfaillie K., & Becchio C. (2012).
Are you approaching me? Motor execution influences perceived action orientation. 
PLoS One, 7, e37514.

2011

Becchio, C., Skewes, J., Lund, T. E., Frith, U., Frith, C. D., & Roepstorff, A. (2011).
How the brain responds to the destruction of money. 
Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology and Economics, 4, 1-10.

Manera, V., Becchio, C., Cavallo, A., Sartori, L., & Castiello, U. (2011).
Cooperation or competition? Discriminating between social intentions by observing prehensile movements. 
Experimental Brain Research, 211, 547-556.

Manera, V., Becchio C., Schouten, B., Bara, B. G., & Verfaillie, K. (2011).
Communicative interactions improve visual detection of biological motion.
PLoS ONE, 6, e14594.

Manera, V., Del Giudice, M., Bara, B.G., Verfaillie, K., & Becchio, C. (2011).
The second-agent effect: Communicative gestures increase the likelihood of perceiving a second agent.
PLoS ONE, 6, e22650.

Sartori, L., Becchio, C., & Castiello, U. (2011).
Cues to intention: the role of movement information. 
Cognition, 119, 242-252.

2010

Becchio, C., Mari, M., & Castiello, U. (2010).
Perception of shadows in children with autism spectrum disorders. 
PLoS ONE, 5, e10582.

Becchio, C., Sartori, L., & Castiello, U. (2010).
Towards you: the social side of actions.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19, 183-188.

Castiello, U., Becchio, C., Zoia, S., Nelini, C., Sartori, L., Blason, L., et al. (2010).
Wired to be social: The ontogeny of human interaction.
PLoS ONE, 5, e13199.

Manera, V., Shouten, B., Becchio, C., Bara, B. G., & Verfaillie, K. (2010).
Inferring intentions from biological motion: A stimulus set of point-light communicative interactions.
Behavior Research Methods, 42, 168-178.

2009

Sartori, L., Becchio, C., Bara, B. G., & Castiello, U. (2009).
Does the intention to communicate affect action kinematics?
Consciousness and cognition, 18, 766-772.

Sartori, L., Becchio, C., Bulgheroni, M., & Castiello, U. (2009).
Modulation of the action control system by social intention: unexpected social requests override preplanned action.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35, 1490-1500.

2008

Becchio, C., Bertone, C., & Castiello, U. (2008).
How the gaze of others influences object processing.
Trends in Cognitive Science, 12, 254-258.

Becchio, C., Sartori, L., Bulgheroni, M., & Castiello, U. (2008).
The case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: A kinematic study on social intention.
Consciousness and cognition, 17, 557-564.

Colle, L., Becchio, C., & Bara, B. G. (2008).
The non-problem of other minds: a neuro-developmental perspective on shared intentionality. 
Human Development, 51, 336-348.

Pierno, A. C., Becchio, C., Tubaldi, F., Turella, L., & Castiello, U. (2008).
Motor ontology in representing gaze-object relations. 
Neuroscience Letters, 430, 246-51.

Pierno, A. C., Becchio, C., Turella, L., Tubaldi, F., & Castiello, U. (2008).
Observing social interactions: The effect of gaze. 
Social Neuroscience, 3, 51-59.

Becchio, C., Sartori, L., Bulgheroni, M., & Castiello, U. (2008).
Both your intention and mine are reflected in the kinematics of my reach-to-grasp movement. 
Cognition, 106, 894-912.

2007

Becchio, C., Pierno, A. C., Mari, M., Lusher, D., & Castiello, U. (2007).
Motor contagion from gaze: the case of autism. 
Brain, 130, 2401-2411.

Georgiou, I., Becchio, C., Glover, S., & Castiello, U. (2007).
Different action patterns for cooperative and competitive behaviour.
Cognition, 102, 415-433.

2006

Becchio, C., & Bertone, C. (2006).
Time and neglect: Abnormal temporal dynamics in unilateral spatial neglect. 
Neuropsychologia, 44, 2775-2782.

Pierno, A. C., Becchio, C., Wall, M. B., Smith, A. T., & Castiello, U. (2006).
Transfer of interfered motor patterns to self from others. 
European Journal of Neuroscience, 23, 1949-1955.

Pierno, A. C., Becchio, C., Wall, M. B., Smith, A. T., Turella, L., & Castiello, U. (2006).
When Gaze Turns into Grasp. 
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18, 2130-2137.

Becchio, C., Adenzato, M., & Bara, B. G. (2006).
How the brain understands intentions: Different neural circuits identify the componential features of motor and prior intentions. 
Consciousness and Cognition, 15, 64-74.

2005

Becchio, C., & Bertone, C. (2005).
Beyond Cartesian Subjectivism: Neural Correlates of Shared Intentionality.
Journal of Consciousness studies, 12, 20-30.

Becchio, C., & Bertone, C. (2005).
The ontology of neglect. 
Consciousness and Cognition, 14, 483-494.

2004

Becchio, C., & Bertone, C. (2004).
Wittgenstein running: Neural mechanisms of collective intentionality and we-mode. 
Consciousness and Cognition, 13, 123-133.

2003

Becchio, C., & Bertone, C. (2003).
Object temporal connotation. 
Brain and Cognition, 52, 192-196.