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Dr Matteo Martini

Senior Lecturer

Psychology

Dr Matteo Martini
    Dr Matteo Martini is psychologist and psychotherapist who joined the School of Psychology of UEL as lecturer in late 2014. He got a first-class degree (Bsc+Msc) in Experimental Psychology at the Psychology Department of Sapienza University of Rome working on the effects of sleep deprivation on topographical memory. He then had a training at Fondazione Santa Lucia carrying out assessment and research on adult and elderly patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Back to Sapienza University he joined the Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (Cosan) directed by Professor S. M. Aglioti, where he got his Ph.D. with a thesis on the effects of cognitive and emotional processes on pain perception. He moved to London to work on the placebo analgesia effect at the Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology of UCL under the supervision of Dr G. D. Iannetti. He later held a post-doc position working with immersive virtual reality scenarios and virtual body ownership, at the EventLab (Universitat de Barcelona), for the Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), directed by Dr M. V. Sanchez-Vives. His interests fall within cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology and psychotherapy.


    - Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) - UK

    - Professional Habilitation for Clinical Psychologist - Italy

    - Member of the National Register of Psychologists - Italy

    - Agencia Nacional de Evaluacion de la Calidad y Acreditacion (ANECA): Evaluacion
    positiva (SPAIN) para Profesor Ayudante y Contratado Doctor - Spain

    Overview

    TIROCINIO PER PSICOLOGI ITALIANI A LONDRA (POST GRADUATE RESEARCH INTERNSHIP FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS)
    Si offre la possibilita' a tirocinanti italiani, di fare il tirocinio (1 o 2 semestri) presso la UEL, nel mio laboratorio. Per maggiori info si prega di contattarmi via email.



    Selected publications

    Publically available research outputs are available to download from UEL’s Research Open Access Repository (ROAR).

    Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

     

    Zanini, A., Montalti, M., Caola, B., Leadbetter, A., Martini, M. 2017. Pain during illusory own arm movement: a study in immersive virtual reality. European Medical Journal. 2[2]:90-97.

     

    Martini, M. (2017). Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Chronic Pain and Depression: any Possible Applications of Multisensory Feedback Approaches Based on Body Representation? Psychol Behav Sci Int J 2(5): PBSIJ.MS.ID.555599.

     

    Nierula, B., Martini, M., Matamala-Gomez, M., Slater, M., Sanchez-Vives, M.V.  Seeing an embodied virtual hand is analgesic contingent on co-location.  J Pain. 2017 Jan 17. pii: S1526-5900(17)30017-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2017.01.003 |


    Martini, M., Lee, M., Valentini, E., & Iannetti, G. D. (2015). Intracortical modulation, and not spinal inhibition, mediates placebo analgesia. European Journal of Neuroscience, 41(4), 498–504. doi:10.1111/ejn.12807 |


    Martini, M., Bufalari, I., Stazi, M. A., & Aglioti, S. M. (2015). Is that me or my twin? Lack of self-face recognition advantage in identical twins. PLoS ONE, 10(4), e0120900. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0120900 |


    Martini, M., Kilteni, K., Maselli, A., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2015). The body fades away: investigating the effects of transparency of an embodied virtual body on pain threshold and body ownership. Scientific Reports, 5, 13948. doi:10.1038/srep13948 |


    Martini, M., Perez-Marcos, D., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2015). Author’s reply to the commentary by Gilpin et al. European Journal of Pain, 19(1), 143–144. doi:10.1002/ejp.606 |


    Martini, M., Perez-Marcos, D., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2014). Modulation of pain threshold by virtual body ownership. European Journal of Pain, 21, 1040–1048. doi:10.1002/j.1532-2149.2014.00451.x |


    Valentini, E., Martini, M., Lee, M., Aglioti, S. M., & Iannetti, G. D. (2014). Seeing facial expressions enhances placebo analgesia. Pain, 155(4), 666–673. doi:10.1016/j.pain.2013.11.021 |


    Martini, M., Valentini, E., & Aglioti, S. M. (2013). Emotional conflict in a model modulates nociceptive processing in an onlooker: a laser-evoked potentials study. Experimental Brain Research, 225(2), 237–245. doi:10.1007/s00221-012-3365-4|


    Martini, M., Perez-Marcos, D., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2013). What color is my arm? Changes in skin color of an embodied virtual arm modulates pain threshold. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 31(7), 1–5. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00438|


    Costa, A., Peppe, A., Martini, M., Coletta, K., Oliveri, M., Caltagirone, C., et al. (2012). Parkinsonian patients with deficits in the dysexecutive spectrum are impaired on theory of mind tasks. Behavioral Neurology, 27(4), 523–533. doi:10.1155/2013/903127|


    Conference Papers

    Nierula, B., Martini, M., Matamala, M., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2015). Are body ownership illusions analgesic? Paper presented at the 16th Congress of the Spanish Society of Neuroscience (SENC), Granada, Spain.|


    Sanchez-Vives, M. V., Sañudo, M. I., Bourdin, P., Martini, M., Iruretagoyena, G., & Bergamasco, M. (2013). Un entorno virtual visual y haptico para la rehabilitación remota. Paper presented at the SERMEF congress, Salamanca, Spain.|


    Sanchez-Vives, M. V., Sañudo, M. I., Bourdin, P., Martini, M., Iruretagoyena, G., & Bergamasco, M. (2013). Ingeniería y rehabilitación: Caso de estudio. Paper presented at the SERMEF congress, Salamanca, Spain.|


    Martini, M., Perez-Marcos, D., Fuentes, C., Haggard, P., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2012). Distortion of the perceived body image by asynchronous visuo-tactile stimulation. Paper presented at the 8th FENS Forum of Neuroscience, Barcelona, Spain.|


    Perez-Marcos, D., Martini, M., Slater, M., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2012). Spatial differences in auditory memory during the virtual hand illusion. Paper presented at the 120th APA Convention, Orlando, FL, USA.|


    Martini, M., Cannella, D., Ruggiero, A., Porciello, G., & Valentini, E. (2010). Observing emotional facial expressions in a model modulated the pain pathway of an onlooker. A L.E.P. study. Paper presented at the Federation of European Societies of Neuropsychology (FESN), Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Holland.|


    Invited Talks

    Martini, M. (2014). The use of Virtual Body Ownership as a tool for pain modulation. Research data presented to the Multisensory Research Group, Universtitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona.|

     

     


    Collaborators

    • test

    Research

    - Altered visual feedback of an embodied virtual avatar unconsciously influences movement  amplitude and muscle activity

    Bourdin P*, Martini M*, Sanchez-Vives MV. 

    * equal contribution
    Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 24;9(1):19747. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56034-5


    - Agency and responsibility over virtual movements controlled through different paradigms of brain-computer interface
    Nierula B, Spanlang B, Martini M, Borrell M, Nikulin VV, Sanchez-Vives MV
    J Physiol. 2019 Oct 24. doi: 10.1113/JP278167.


    - Visuo–tactile stimulation, but not type of movement, modulates pain during the vision of a moving virtual limb.
    Gordon C, Barbullushi A, Tombolini S, Margiotta F, Ciacci A, Yosef LS, Barker L, Martini M
    Pain Manag. 2019 Aug 27. doi: 10.2217/pmt-2019-0019.


    - Commentary Mechanical Pain Thresholds and the Rubber Hand Illusion
    Martini M
    Front Psychol. 2018 Oct 18;9:1715. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01715.


    - The bodily illusion in adverse conditions: virtual arm ownership during visuo-motor mismatch.
    Caola B, Montalti M, Zanini A, Leadbetter T, Martini M
    Perception. 2018 Jan 1:301006618758211. doi: 10.1177/0301006618758211


    - Selective distortion of body image by asynchronous visuotactile stimulation.
    Perez-Marcos D, Martini M, Fuentes CT, Bellido Rivas AI, Haggard P, Sanchez-Vives MV.
    Body Image. 2018 Mar;24:55-61. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.11.002.


    - Pain during illusory own arm movement - a study in immersive virtual reality.
    Zanini A, Montalti M, Caola B, Leadbetter A, Martini M
    EMJ. 2018 EMJ. 2017;2[2]:90-97.

     

     

    - Seeing an Embodied Virtual Hand is Analgesic Contingent on Colocation.
    Nierula B, Martini M, Matamala-Gomez M, Slater M, Sanchez-Vives MV.
    J Pain. 2017 18. pii: S1526-5900(17)30017-2. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2017.01.003


    - Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Chronic Pain and Depression: any Possible Applications of Multisensory Feedback Approaches Based on Body Representation?
    Martini M
    Psychol Behav Sci Int J. 2017 2(5): PBSIJ.MS.ID.555599


    - Real, rubber or virtual: the vision of “one’s own” body as a means for pain modulation. A narrative review.
    Martini M
    Conscious Cogn. 2016 43:143-151.  doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.06.005


    - The body fades away: investigating the effects of transparency of an embodied virtual body on pain threshold and body ownership.
    Martini M, Kilteni K, Maselli A, Sanchez-Vives MV.
    Sci Rep. 2015 5:13948.  doi: 10.1038/srep13948


    - Is that me or my twin? Lack of self-face recognition advantage in identical twins.
    Martini M, Bufalari I, Stazi MA, Aglioti SM.
    PLoS ONE, 2015 10(4), e0120900.  doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120900


    - Author's reply to the commentary by Gilpin et al.
    Martini M, Perez-Marcos D, Sanchez-Vives MV
    Eur J Pain. 2014 doi:10.1002/ejp.606


    - Intracortical modulation, and not spinal inhibition, mediates placebo analgesia
    Martini M, Lee M, Valentini E, Iannetti GD.
    Eur J Neurosci. 2015 Feb;41(4):498-504. doi: 10.1111/ejn.12807.


    - Modulation of pain threshold by virtual body ownership.
    Martini M, Perez-Marcos D, Sanchez-Vives MV.
    Eur J Pain. 2014 Jan 21. doi: 10.1002/j.1532-2149.2014.00451


    - Seeing facial expressions enhances placebo analgesia.
    Valentini E, Martini M, Lee M, Aglioti SM, Iannetti GD.
    Pain. 2014 Apr;155(4):666-73. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2013.11.021  


    - What color is my arm? Changes in skin color of an embodied virtual arm modulates pain threshold.
    Martini M, Perez-Marcos D, Sanchez-Vives MV.
    Front Hum Neurosci. 2013 Jul 31;7:438. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00438
    MEDIA: Scientific American (“The Color of Pain”)


    - Emotional conflict in a model modulates nociceptive processing in an onlooker: a laser-evoked potentials study.
    Martini M, Valentini E, Aglioti SM.
    Exp Brain Res. 2013 Mar;225(2):237-45. doi: 10.1007/s00221-012-3365-4


    - Parkinsonian patients with deficits in the dysexecutive spectrum are impaired on theory of mind tasks.
    Costa A, Peppe A, Martini M, Coletta K, Oliveri M, Caltagirone C, Carlesimo GA.
    Behav Neurol. 2013 Jan 1;27(4):523-33. doi: 10.3233/BEN-129018.



     

    Publications

    My research focuses on, but is not limited to, the perception of pain and pain modulation, the psychological and neural mechanisms of body ownership and body representation, face recognition and emotional facial expressions.


    Interests




    Bsc course

    PY4103: Introduction to Cognitive and Developmental Psychology  

    PY5201 Researching Psychological Worlds 2

    PY5202 Applications of psychobiology, individual differences and social psychology

    PY5205: Cognitive Neuropsychology

    PY5210: Psychology of Ageing (module leader)

    PY5203: Topics in Cognitive and Developmental Psychology (module co-leader)

    Msc course

    PY7152: Individual Differences and Developmental Psychology

    PY7154 Research Methods

    PY7157 Perspectives in psychology: Biological, Cognitive and Developmental 

     

    BSc (Hons) Psychology
    MSc Psychology

    Teaching