Zaira Romeo

Research Interests

I’m interested in cognitive neuroscience, resting state networks and attentional processes. In particular, I study the mechanisms underlying brain organization after unilateral damage and the consequent implications for cognitive performance by means of electroencephalography (EEG) and neuroimaging techniques.

My research interests are focused on the signatures of resting state networks in stroke patients in order to correlate patterns of spontaneous brain activity  with neuropsychological measures. This investigation builds on the hypothesis that cognition is not only associated  with the specialization of brain regions, but also with the large-scale organization of functionally connected networks. Recently, I employed a state-of-art methodology in order to reconstruct the brain networks from EEG signals (rather than fMRI) in chronic stroke patients. Moreover, I'm investigating the oscillatory patterns of activation in stroke population in order to identify EEG markers of patient's recovery.

I'm also in interested in clinical assessment of spatial neglect.

Education

Ph.D., Psychological Sciences, University of Padova (2018)
Laurea (M.Sc.), Neuroscience and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, University of Padova (2013)

Representative publications

• D’Imperio, D., Romeo, Z., Maistrello, L., Durgoni, E., Della Pietà, C., De Filippo De Grazia, M., … Zorzi, M. (2021). Sensorimotor , Attentional , and Neuroanatomical Predictors of Upper Limb Motor Deficits and Rehabilitation Outcome after Stroke. Neural Plasticity, 2021.

• Romeo, Z., Mantini, D., Durgoni, E., Passarini, L., Meneghello, F., & Zorzi, M. (2021). Electrophysiological signatures of resting state networks predict cognitive deficits in stroke. Cortex, 138, 59–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2021.01.019

• Spironelli, C., Maffei, A., Romeo, Z., Piazzon, G., Padovan, G., Magnolfi, G., … Angrilli, A. (2020). Evidence of language-related left hypofrontality in Major Depression : An EEG Beta band study. Scientific Reports, 10, 8166. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65168-w

• Romeo, Z., Bonato, M., Zorzi, M., & Spironelli, C. (2019). Electrophysiological correlates of spatial processing during multitasking. Neuropsychologia, 133, 107152. doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107152

• Spironelli, C., Romeo, Z., Maffei, A.,  Angrilli, A. (2019). Comparison of automatic visual attention in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression: Evidence from P1 event‐related component. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci.. doi:10.1111/pcn.12840

• Bonato, M., Romeo, Z., Blini, E., Pitteri, M., Durgoni, E., Passarini, L., Meneghello, F., Zorzi, M., (2019). Ipsilesional impairments of visual awareness after right-hemispheric stroke. Front. Psychol. 10:697. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00697

• Blini, E., Romeo, Z., Spironelli C., Pitteri, M. Meneghello, F., Bonato, M., Zorzi, M. (2016). Multi-tasking uncovers right spatial neglect and extinction in chronic left-hemisphere stroke patients. Neuropsychologia, 92, 147-157