New publications from the ONDA Lab
Summary
Percentile ranks as an alternative to Equivalent Scores
In this papwer we show how Percentile ranks with confidence intervals, computed here on the Italian MoCA 8.1 norms, give a finer reading of a patient’s score as compared to the “Equivalent Scores”, the five categories of system widely used in Italy.
Facchin A, Arcara G, Priftis K (2026). Moving from equivalent scores to percentile ranks in clinical neuropsychology: Benefits, computation with confidence intervals, and application on MoCA 8.1 Italian norms. Neurological Sciences, 47(11), 866. DOI: 10.1007/s10072-026-09477-4
Only the dorsal premotor cortex stabilises what was just learned
Disrupting either premotor area with continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) slowed the learning of new visuomotor associations, but only dorsal premotor disruption impaired recall a day later: the two areas share early learning, while stabilisation rests on Premotor dorsal regions (PMd) alone.
Turrini S, Amadori A, Arcara G, di Pellegrino G, Avenanti A (2026). Stage-specific contributions of dorsal and ventral premotor cortices to the acquisition of arbitrary visuomotor associations. Cortex, 205, 441-455. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2026.09.018
Cognitive performance relates to flexible views of ageing
In this collaboration with Erika Borella’s group we show, that among 237 older adults, better working memory and greater psychological well-being went with seeing age-related cognitive change as malleable rather than fixed, especially after 75.
Sella E, Carbone E, Domenicucci R, Signori D, Arcara G, Borella E (2026). Essentialist and Nonessentialist Views of Cognitive Aging in Older Age: The Role of Working Memory, Cognitive Inhibition and Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Intelligence, 14(10), 238. DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence14100238