I am a cognitive and computational neuroscientist studying how cognitive focus implements selective neural encoding, both in attention and in the evaluation of potential actions or outcomes, to shape reward-guided behavior. I am currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Computational and Mathematical Neuroscience at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM), working in the lab of Prof. Klaus Wimmer.

Previously, I held a postdoctoral position in the Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience (TCN) group at the Center for Brain and Computation (CBC) within the Department of Engineering at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona, where I conducted my research in the lab of Prof. Rubén Moreno-Bote. During this time, I worked on the integration of gaze¹ and intentional drives² in experimental decision-making processes and on the development of a closed-loop computational model linking gaze dynamics to choice behavior³.

I obtained my PhD at the Center for Mind/Brain Cognition in Rovereto, Italy, in the lab of Prof. Panzeri, in collaboration with Prof. Thiele from Newcastle University, UK. My doctoral research focused on the effects of attention on spectral cortical laminar interactions within visual brain areas V1 and V4, combining information-theory and extensive neurophysiological data analyses⁴.

My aim is to extend my current research framework to integrate cognitive control functions in perception and action by combining experimental and theoretical approaches, contributing to fundamental neuroscience with strong potential for real-life clinical applications.

1. Ferro, Cash-Padgett, Zhe-Wang, Hayden and Moreno-Bote, Nature Communications, 2024
2. Ferro, Azab, Hayden and Moreno-Bote, bioRxiv, 2025
3. Ferro, Yang and Moreno-Bote, Cognitive Computational Neuroscience, 2025
4. Ferro, van Kempen, Boyd, Panzeri and Thiele, PNAS, 2021