Pascucci/1
May 2014
DAVID PASCUCCI
Curriculum vitae
e-mail:
david.pascucci-1@unitn.it
psc.dav@gmail.com
phone:
(+39) 3807550835
work address: Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC)
University of Trento
Corso Bettini, 31
38068 Rovereto, Italy





General Information
Research Activities
Academic Activities
Conferences
Publications
Pascucci/2
General Information
Personal Details
 Date of birth: November 1st, 1982 in Città della Pieve (Italy)
 Citizenship: Italian
 Languages: Italian (native); English (fluent)
Current Activity
 Phd student at University of Trento, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC, Rovereto,
Italy). Project: “The role of endogenous reward on perceptual learning and brain plasticity”;
supervisor: Professor M. Turatto.
Education

October, 2010
Internship at Perception and Sleep Lab, University of Florence, Department of Psychology
(Firenze, Italy). Project: “Sleep parameters of daytime naps and their effect on perceptual
learning”; supervisors: Prof. S. Baldassi and F. Giganti.

February, 2009
Master Degree in Experimental Psychology, University of Florence, Department of
Psychology (Firenze, Italy). Thesis: “How does sound improve vision? A classification
image study”; advisor: S. Baldassi. Grade: 110/110 cum laude.

September, 2005
Bachelor Degree in General and Experimental Psychology, University of Florence,
Department of Psychology (Firenze, Italy). Thesis: “Neural correlates of timbre and rhythm
perception”; advisor: N. Berardi.
Advanced Training
 Workshop on EEGLAB: a software for analysis of electroencephalographic data based on
Matlab. December 1-3rd 2010 (University of Trento).
 fMRI data analysis (BrainVoyager QX). October 28-30th 2013 (University of Trento).
Computer Skills
 Programming: Matlab (Psychtoolbox, VSG/Visage), R.
 Analysis and graphical representation: SPSS, Stat, OriginLab, BrainVision Analyzer, Brain
Voyager.
Pascucci/3
Research Activities
Research Interests
My research interests lie generally in the understanding of the functions and processes that underlie
our perceptual experience, emphasizing the crucial role played by other factors beyond the pure sensory
processing. More in details, I have focused my studies on visual perception, with the aim to evaluate how
the human abilities in performing low-level visual tasks (e.g., contrast and orientation discrimination,
visual acuity, motion perception) can be strengthened, altered and even biased by other canonically
conceived higher-level factors, such as attention and reward. Starting from these fundamental issues, my
interests broaden in two main research branches that I have approached with behavioural,
neurophysiological and computational methodologies.
The first aim is to determine the role of attentional components during visual processing. Within this
field, I have conducted several studies with different paradigms and methodologies (e.g., visual priming,
visual masking, reverse correlation, attentional capture, steady-state visual evoked potentials) focused on
understanding the attentional mechanisms by which visual perception can be improved or deteriorated
(see Pascucci, Megna, Panichi, & Baldassi, 2011; Pascucci, Mastropasqua, & Turatto, 2012, for my
published work on the topics of visual perception and attention).
Another consistent part of my research, that has also been the main core of my Ph.D project, aims to
characterize the effects of endogenous and exogenous reward on visual perception. The key issue of this
topic is to investigate to what extent the low-level visual representations are altered when visual stimuli
are paired with behaviourally relevant events (events with positive reinforcing value, such as the delivery
of external reward or the correct execution of a task). On this regard, I have investigated the influence of
different forms of reward on visual plasticity with paradigms of perceptual learning, visual persistence
and visual adaptation (see Pascucci & Turatto, 2013, for my main published contribution in this topic; a
brief summary of under-review papers is available on request). At present, I am also approaching this
topic from a different angle, by conducting a functional imaging (fMRI) study to explore the nature and
the neural basis of the reward-related effects on visual perception.
Overall, the results I have collected corroborate and extend the hypothesis of a complex interplay
between attention and reinforcement signals (reward) in shaping our visual abilities. The rich outcome of
my Ph.D led to a recent project aimed at proposing a new computational model of perceptual learning.






Visual Perception and Low-level Vision
Attention
Reward
Perceptual Learning and Brain Plasticity
Cross-modal Perception
Psychophysics, fMRI, EEG, MEG, computational modeling
Pascucci/4
Current Collaborations
 Hickey C., and Jovicich J. (CIMeC, University of Trento): Endogenous signals of reward in
the mesolimbic system (fMRI project)
 Mazza V., and Infanti E. (CIMeC, University of Trento): Habituation of the orienting
response to irrelevant onsets (EEG project)
 Khamassi M. (Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France): Computational models of
Perceptual Learning.
Research Experiences

March, 2014 –
EEG Lab at CIMeC (Rovereto, Italy). Prof. M. Turatto and V. Mazza. Project investigating
mechanisms of attentional capture and habituation with the method of steady-state visual
evoked potentials (SSVEP). Design and implementation of experiments. EEG data analysis.

November, 2010 –
Psychophysics Lab at CIMeC (Rovereto, Italy). Prof. M. Turatto. Psychophysical and
computational work focused on attention, reward and perceptual learning. Methods: taskirrelevant perceptual learning, classical conditioning, visual adaptation, visual masking,
computational modeling.

February, 2009 – November, 2010
Perception and Sleep Lab, University of Florence (Florence, Italy). Prof. S. Baldassi and
F. Giganti. Study investigating the role of daily naps on visual perceptual learning. Methods:
polysomnographic recording, visual contrast threshold estimation. Design and
implementation of the experiment, polysomnographic and behavioral data analysis.

January, 2008 – February, 2009
Visual perception and Attention Lab, University of Florence, Department of Psychology
(Florence, Italy). Prof. S. Baldassi. Psychophysical work on cross-modal perception.
Methods: perceptual fields estimation, classification image (reverse correlation).
Pascucci/5
Academic Activities
Teaching
 Teacher of the module “Psychtoolbox 3.0” and Teaching Assistant in the “Matlab
Scripting Course” for phd students. December 4-12th 2012 (CIMeC, University of Trento)
 Teaching Assistant in the course “Plasticità Corticale e Apprendimento Percettivo” held
by Prof. M. Turatto, Faculty of Cognitive Science, academic years 2012/2013 and
2013/2014 (Rovereto, Italy).
Student Mentoring
 2008 – 2010
Tutor for the internship program in “Laboratorio di Psicologia Sperimentale”, University of
Florence, Department of Psychology (Florence, Italy).
 2012 – 2013
Tutor and referee of Matlab Scripting and Psychtoolbox 3.0 for phd students (CIMeC,
University of Trento).
 2011 – 2012
Supervisor of BA thesis: M. Venturini “Gli effetti del reward sulla percezione di stimoli
visivi”.
 2011 – 2014
Supervisor of undergraduate internship projects on perceptual learning, attention, reward
and computational modeling.
Pascucci/6
Conferences
Invited Talks
 November, 2013
CODISCO 2013 (Noto, Italy). “Attention, Reward and the hypothesis of two distinct
channels”.
 November, 2009
CNR Institute of Neuroscience (Pisa, Italy). “Acoustic cues to visual detection: A
classification images study”.
Oral Presentations
 Pascucci D., Mastropasqua T., Turatto M. (2011) Expectation and priming affect pop-out
targets visibility. The European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCOP), San Sebastian,
Spain.
Poster Presentations
 Pascucci D., Mastropasqua T., Turatto M. (2013) Monetary incentives modulate internal
signals of reinforcement. Rovereto Attention Workshop (RAW), Rovereto, Italy.
 Pascucci D., Mastropasqua T., Turatto M. (2011) Expectation and priming affect pop-out
targets visibility. Rovereto Attention Workshop (RAW), Rovereto, Italy.
 Pascucci, D., Megna, N., Panichi, M., & Baldassi, S. (2009). How does sound improve
vision? A classification image study. Perception, 38, 18. European Conference on Visual
Perception (Regensburg, Germany).
Awards

Best oral presentation at CIMeC Doctoral School Day, 21st September 2012 (Rovereto,
Italy)
Pascucci/7
Publications
Refereed Publications
1. Pascucci, D., & Turatto, M. (2013). Immediate effect of internal reward on visual
adaptation. Psychological science, 24(7), 1317-1322. IF: 4.431
2. Pascucci, D., Mastropasqua, T., & Turatto, M. (2012). Permeability of priming of pop out to
expectations. Journal of vision, 12(10), 21. IF: 2.479
3. Pascucci, D., Megna, N., Panichi, M., & Baldassi, S. (2011). Acoustic cues to visual
detection: A classification image study. Journal of vision, 11(6). IF: 2.479
Under-Review

Pascucci, D., Mastropasqua, T., & Turatto, M. Monetary reward modulates task-irrelevant
perceptual learning for invisible stimuli.

Pascucci, D., & Turatto, M. The distracting impact of repeated visible and invisible onsets
on focused attention.

Mastropasqua, T., Galliussi, J., Pascucci, D., & Turatto, M. Location transfer of perceptual
learning: The role of passive stimulation, attention, and double training.
 Pascucci, D., Infanti, E., Mastropasqua, T., & Turatto, M. Endogenous reward and shortterm visual plasticity.