Luca Turella - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Luca Turella

BioMed Research International, 2015

Background. Given the technical difficulties, a limited number of works have been published on in... more Background. Given the technical difficulties, a limited number of works have been published on insular gliomas surgery and risk factors for tumor recurrence (TR) are poorly documented. Objective. The aim of the study was to determine TR in adult patients with initial diagnosis of insular Low-Grade Gliomas (LGGs) that subsequently underwent second surgery. Methods. A consecutive series of 53 patients with insular LGGs was retrospectively reviewed; 23 patients had two operations for TR. Results. At the time of second surgery, almost half of the patients had experienced progression into high-grade gliomas (HGGs). Univariate analysis showed that TR is influenced by the following: extent of resection (EOR) (P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.002), ΔVT2T1 value (P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001), histological diagnosis of oligodendroglioma (P = 0.017), and mutation of IDH1 (P = 0.022). The multivariate analysis showed that EOR at first surgery was the independent predictor for TR (P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001). Conclusions. In patients with insular LGG the EOR at first surgery represents the major predictive factor for TR. At time of TR, more than 50% of cases had progressed in HGG, raising the question of the oncological management after the first surgery.

SOMMARIO Gli esseri umani, creature altamente sociali, sfruttano quotid- ianamente l'abilità ... more SOMMARIO Gli esseri umani, creature altamente sociali, sfruttano quotid- ianamente l'abilità di cogliere l'intenzione altrui all'azione per poterne prevedere gli esisti ed eventualmente modificarli. Probabilmente, la percezione da parte di un osservatore di ciò che un attore sta per fare è basata sulla lettura dei gesti e delle espressioni del suo corpo rispetto ai potenziali obiettivi pre- senti nell'ambiente. Qui

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2013

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2014

Social Neuroscience, 2011

Social Neuroscience, 2008

PLoS ONE, 2012

In 1979, Gibson first advanced the idea that the sight of graspable objects automatically activat... more In 1979, Gibson first advanced the idea that the sight of graspable objects automatically activates in the observer the repertoire of actions necessary to interact with them, even in the absence of any intention to act (''affordance effect''). The neurophysiological substrate of this effect was later identified in a class of bimodal neurons, the so-called "canonical" neurons, located within monkey premotor cortex. In humans, even if different behavioral studies supported the existence of affordance effect, neurophysiological investigations exploring its neural substrates showed contradictory results. Here, by means of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), we explored the time-course of the ''affordance effect'' elicited by the observation of everyday-life graspable objects on motor cortex of resting observers. We recorded motor evoked potentials (MEP) from three intrinsic hand muscles (two "synergic" for grasping, OP and FDI and one "neutral", ADM). We found that objects' vision determined an increased excitability at 120 milliseconds after their presentation. Moreover, this modulation was proved to be specific to the cortical representations of synergic muscles. From an evolutionary perspective, this timing perfectly fits with a fast recruitment of the motor system aimed at rapidly and accurately choosing the appropriate motor plans in a competitive environment filled with different opportunities. Citation: Franca M, Turella L, Canto R, Brunelli N, Allione L, et al. (2012) Corticospinal Facilitation during Observation of Graspable Objects: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49025.

Neuroscience Letters, 2008

Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to explore how the human brai... more Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to explore how the human brain models gaze-object relations. During scanning participants observed a human model gazing towards or away a target object presented either in isolation or flanked by a distractor object. In two further conditions the model's gaze was shifted and subsequently maintained away from the stimulus/i. These four conditions were implemented within a factorial design in which the main factors were "type of observed behavior" (gaze vs. gaze-away) and "context" (target alone vs. target flanked by a distractor). Results revealed that premotor, parietal and temporal areas, known to sub-serve the understanding of other people actions, were significantly more activated by the observation of the model gazing towards rather than away from the stimulus/i. In addition, a significant interaction indicated that, when the target was presented in isolation, neural activity within the inferior frontal gyrus, another key area for action understanding, was influenced by gaze-object relations. Our findings suggest that this area is important for the establishment of intentional gaze-object relations and indicate that the presence of a distractor interferes with the representation of such relations.

NeuroImage, 2009

Recent neuroimaging evidence in macaques has shown that the neural system underlying the observat... more Recent neuroimaging evidence in macaques has shown that the neural system underlying the observation of hand actions performed by others (i.e., "action observation system") is modulated by whether the observed action is performed by a person in full view or an isolated hand (i.e., type of view manipulation). Although a human homologue of such circuit has been identified, whether in humans the neural processes involved in this capacity are modulated by the type of view remains unknown. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate whether the "action observation system", with specific reference to the ventral premotor cortex, responds differentially depending on type of view. We also tested this manipulation within regions of the human brain showing overlapping activity for both the observation and the execution of action ("mirror" regions). To this end, the same subjects were requested to observe grasping actions performed under the two types of view (observation conditions) or to perform a grasping action (execution condition). Results from whole-brain analyses indicate that overlapping activity for action observation and execution was evident in a broad network of areas including parietal, premotor and temporal cortices. Activity within such network was evident for both the observation of a person in full view or an isolated hand, but it was not modulated by the type of view. Similarly, results from region of interest (ROI) analyses, performed within the ventral premotor cortex, did confirm that this area responded in a similar fashion following the observation of either an isolated hand or an entire model acting. These findings offer novel insights on what the "action observation" and the "mirror" systems visually code and how the processing underlying such coding may vary across species. Further, they support the hypothesis that action goal is amongst the main determinants for the revelation of action observation activity, and to the existence of a broad system involved in the simulation of action.

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2006

& Previous research has provided evidence for a neural system underlying the observation of anoth... more & Previous research has provided evidence for a neural system underlying the observation of another person's hand actions. Is the neural system involved in this capacity also important in inferring another person's motor intentions toward an object from their eye gaze? In real-life situations, humans use eye movements to catch and direct the attention of others, often without any accompanying hand movements or speech. In an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study, subjects observed videos showing a human model either grasping a target object (grasping condition) or simply gazing (gaze condition) at the same object. These two conditions were contrasted with each other and against a control condition in which the human model was standing behind the object without performing any gazing or grasping action. The results revealed activations within the dorsal premotor cortex, the inferior frontal gyrus, the inferior parietal lobule, and the superior temporal sulcus in both ''grasping'' and ''gaze'' conditions. These findings suggest that signaling the presence of an object through gaze elicits in an observer a similar neural response to that elicited by the observation of a reach-to-grasp action performed on the same object. &

Human Brain Mapping, 2012

We thank Mathias Röger for the help with participants and measurement, as well as Jakob Erb for t... more We thank Mathias Röger for the help with participants and measurement, as well as Jakob Erb for the help with the eye movement analysis. The cooperation of chess players is greatly appreciated. The study was funded by the DFG projects GR 833/8-1 and BI 1450/1-2. Correspondence should be sent to Merim Bilalić,

Experimental Brain Research, 2008

Objects can be grasped in several ways due to their physical properties, the context surrounding ... more Objects can be grasped in several ways due to their physical properties, the context surrounding the object, and the goal of the grasping agent. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the prior-to-contact grasping kinematics of the same object vary as a result of diVerent goals of the person grasping it. Subjects were requested to reach toward and grasp a bottle Wlled with water, and then complete one of the following tasks: (1) Grasp it without performing any subsequent action; (2) Lift and throw it; (3) Pour the water into a container; (4) Place it accurately on a target area; (5) Pass it to another person. We measured the angular excursions at both metacarpalphalangeal (mcp) and proximal interphalangeal (pip) joints of all digits, and abduction angles of adjacent digit pairs by means of resistive sensors embedded in a glove. The results showed that the presence and the nature of the task to be performed following grasping aVect the positioning of the Wngers during the reaching phase. We contend that a oneto-one association between a sensory stimulus and a motor response does not capture all the aspects involved in grasping. The theoretical approach within which we frame our discussion considers internal models of anticipatory control which may provide a suitable explanation of our results.

Cerebral Cortex, 2009

Previous neuroimaging research on healthy humans has provided evidence for a neural system underl... more Previous neuroimaging research on healthy humans has provided evidence for a neural system underlying the observation of another person&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s hand actions. However, whether the neural processes involved in this capacity are activated by the observation of other transitive hand actions such as pointing remains unknown. Therefore, using functional magnetic resonance imaging we investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the observation of static images representing the hand of a human model pointing to an object (pointing condition), grasping an object (grasping condition), or resting in proximity of an object (control condition). The results indicated that activity within portions of the lateral occipitotemporal and the somatosensory cortices modulates according to the type of observed transitive actions. Specifically, these regions were more activated for the grasping than for the pointing condition. In contrast, the premotor cortex, a neural marker of action observation, did not show any differential activity when contrasting the considered experimental conditions. Our findings may provide novel insights regarding a possible role of extrastriate and somatosensory brain areas for the perception of distinct types of human hand-object interactions.

Cerebral Cortex, 2012

In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the influence ... more In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the influence that the presence of an object, intended as the target for an action, might have on the neural circuit underlying the observation of the movement of others (action observation network [AON]). This system entails a simulation process of the observed movement occurring via the recruitment of the motor and somatosensory cortices involved in the execution of such movement. Here, participants were requested to observe grasping actions ending behind a partition knowing in advance whether a target-object would be present (i.e., object-directed action) or absent (i.e., non object-directed action). These ''action'' conditions were compared with ''control'' conditions in which a stationary hand was presented either alone or together with the target-object hidden behind the partition. Activation within most regions of the AON was similar for observing partially occluded object-related and non object-related actions. However, within one of the regions belonging to the AON, namely in the somatosensory cortices, blood oxygen level--dependent activity was modulated by the presence of a target-object. We interpreted such modulation as demonstration of the differential involvement of the somatosensory component of the AON for the coding of these 2 types of actions.

Brain and Language, 2009

The widely known discovery of mirror neurons in macaques shows that premotor and parietal cortica... more The widely known discovery of mirror neurons in macaques shows that premotor and parietal cortical areas are not only involved in executing one's own movement, but are also active when observing the action of others. The goal of this essay is to critically evaluate the substance of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) studies whose aim has been to reveal the presence of a parallel system in humans. An inspection of this literature suggests that there is relatively weak evidence for the existence of a circuit with 'mirror' properties in humans, such as that described in monkeys.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether and how hand shaping was affected by the pr... more The aim of the present study was to determine whether and how hand shaping was affected by the presence of a distractor object adjacent to the tobe-grasped object. Twenty subjects were requested to reach towards and grasp a 'convex' or a 'concave' object in the presence or absence of a distractor object either of the same or different shape than the target object. Flexion/extension at the metacarpal-phalangeal (MCP) and proximal interphalangeal joints of all digits, and abduction angle between digits were measured by resistive sensors embedded in a glove. The results indicate robust interference effects at the level of reach duration and the extent of fingers' abduction angles together with changes at the level of a single joint for the thumb. No distractor effects on individual fingers' joints except for the MCP of the middle and little fingers were found. These findings suggest that the presence of distractor object affects hand shaping in terms of fingers' abduction angles, but not at the level of 'shape dependent' fingers' angular excursions. Furthermore, they support the importance of the thumb for the guidance of selective reach-to-grasp movements. We discuss these results in the context of current theories proposed to explain the object selection processes underlying the control of hand action. C. Ansuini Á V. Tognin Á L. Turella Á

Recent fMRI evidence indicates that both the execution and the observation of hand actions in mul... more Recent fMRI evidence indicates that both the execution and the observation of hand actions in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients increase recruitment of a portion of the so-called mirror neuron system. However, it remains unclear whether this is the expression of a compensatory mechanism for the coding of observed action or whether such a mechanism represents a rather unspecific functional adaptation process. Here we used fMRI on early relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) patients to clarify this issue. Functional images of 15 right-handed early RRMS patients and of 15 sex- and age-matched right-handed healthy controls were acquired using a 1.5 T scanner. During scanning, participants simply observed images depicting a human hand either grasping an object or resting alongside an object. As shown by a between-group analysis, when compared to controls, RRMS patients revealed a robust increase of activation in an extensive network of brain regions including frontal, parietal, temporal and visual areas usually activated during action observation. However, this pattern of hemodynamic activity was completely independent of the type of observed hand-object interaction as revealed by the lack of any significant between-group interaction. Our findings are in line with previous fMRI evidence demonstrating cortical reorganization in MS patients during action observation. However, based on our findings we go one step further and suggest that such functional cortical changes may be the expression of a generalized and unspecific compensatory mechanism, that is not necessarily involved in action understanding.