Profile
Clinical Psychologist and PhD in Neuroscience, she has been serving as an Adjunct Professor at Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna since 2023. Her research interests focus primarily on the bodily self, interoception, autonomic regulation, and the neurophysiological correlates of social interaction, both in typical functioning and in psychopathological conditions. Her academic work combines experimental research, university teaching, and clinical practice, with a particular emphasis on neuroscience and mental health.
Education and Training
She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychological Sciences and Techniques from the University of Chieti-Pescara “G. d’Annunzio” in 2008, graduating with full marks (110/110), and her Master’s degree in Psychology from the same university in 2010, graduating with full marks and honors (110/110 cum laude). In 2015, she earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Parma with a dissertation on bodily self-recognition and autonomic correlates during social interaction. In 2016, she obtained professional licensure as a psychologist. She has further specialized in cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, third-wave approaches, mindfulness-based interventions, and EMDR.
Academic Career
Following the completion of her doctoral studies, she pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Parma and the University of Perugia, contributing to projects on the neurophysiological correlates of the self, social interaction, and psychopathology. In 2024–2025, she held a Research Fellowship at the Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari” of Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna. Since 2023, she has been teaching at the same university as an Adjunct Professor.
Research Activity
Her research activity is situated within the field of cognitive and clinical neuroscience, with particular attention to embodiment processes, the bodily self, interoception, and autonomic regulation in social interaction. Her work investigates the behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of psychopathology, with a specific focus on eating disorders, schizophrenia, self-disorders, depression, and, more broadly, the relationship between brain, body, and social cognition.
She is the author of publications in leading international peer-reviewed journals, including Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Frontiers in Psychology, Schizophrenia Research, Journal of Eating Disorders, Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, Scientific Reports, and Brain Sciences. She has also presented her research at national and international conferences, including invited lectures.
Editorial and Peer-Review Activity
She serves as a reviewer for international scientific journals, including Frontiers in Psychology and Frontiers in Network Physiology.
Awards and Honors
In 2016, following a competitive international selection process, she was awarded a full grant to attend the Basel Winter School of Psychiatry, organized by the Universitäre Psychiatrische Kliniken Basel.
Other Professional Activities
Alongside her academic work, she is engaged in clinical practice as an independent psychologist and also works as a scientific consultant.
Publications:
Borgomaneri, S., Quettier, T., Ambrosecchia, M., Battaglia, S., Tamietto, M., & Avenanti, A. (2025). Early changes in corticospinal excitability for subliminally presented fearful body postures. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 29088.
Zanelli, V., Lui, F., Casadio, C., Ricci, F., Carpentiero, O., Ballotta, D., et al. (2025). Unveiling the truth in pain: Neural and behavioral distinctions between genuine and deceptive pain. Brain Sciences, 15(2), 185.
Moccia, L., Serantoni, C., Ambrosecchia, M., Conte, E., Maulucci, G., Janiri, D., et al. (2025). Interoceptive impairments in early-stage anorexia nervosa: Exploring the impact of childhood trauma and heart rate variability. Journal of Eating Disorders, 13(1), 101.
Moccia, L., di Luzio, M., Conte, E., Modica, M., Ambrosecchia, M., Ardizzi, M., et al. (2024). Sense of agency and its disturbances: A systematic review targeting the intentional binding effect in neuropsychiatric disorders. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 78(1), 3–18.
Ambrosecchia, M., Ardizzi, M., Russo, E. C., Ditaranto, F., Speciale, M., Vinai, P., et al. (2023). Bodily self-recognition and body size overestimation in restrictive anorexia nervosa: Implicit and explicit mechanisms. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1197319.
Moccia, L., Conte, E., Ambrosecchia, M., Janiri, D., Di Pietro, S., De Martin, V., et al. (2021). Anomalous self-experience, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptomatology in first-onset anorexia nervosa. Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 1–8.
Ardizzi, M., Ambrosecchia, M., Buratta, L., et al. (2020). The motor roots of minimal self disorders in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research.
Germani, A., Ambrosecchia, M., Buratta, L., Peciccia, M., Mazzeschi, C., & Gallese, V. (2019). Constructing the sense of self in psychosis using the amniotic therapy: A single case study. Psychosis, 11(3), 277–281.
Benuzzi, F., Lui, F., Ardizzi, M., Ambrosecchia, M., Ballotta, D., Righi, S., et al. (2018). Pain mirrors: Neural correlates of observing self or others’ facial expressions of pain. Frontiers in Psychology, 9.
Ambrosecchia, M., Ardizzi, M., Russo, E., Ditaranto, F., Speciale, M., Vinai, P., et al. (2017). Interoception and autonomic correlates during social interactions: Implications for anorexia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11.
Ardizzi, M., Ambrosecchia, M., Buratta, L., Ferri, F., Peciccia, M., Donnari, S., et al. (2016). Interoception and positive symptoms in schizophrenia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10.
Vinai, P., Speciale, M., Vinai, L., Bruno, C., Ambrosecchia, M., et al. (2015). The clinical implications and neurophysiological background of using self-mirroring technique to enhance the identification of emotional experiences: An example with Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 1–19.
Ambrosecchia, M., Marino, B. F., Gawryszewski, L. G., & Riggio, L. (2015). Spatial stimulus-response compatibility and affordance effects are not ruled by the same mechanisms. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 283.
Cuccio, V., Ambrosecchia, M., Ferri, F., Carapezza, M., Piparo, F. L., Fogassi, L., & Gallese, V. (2014). How the context matters: Literal and figurative meaning in the embodied language paradigm. PLoS ONE, 9, e115381.
Ferri, F., Ardizzi, M., Ambrosecchia, M., & Gallese, V. (2013). Closing the gap between the inside and the outside: Interoceptive sensitivity and social distances. PLoS ONE, 8, e75758.
