Francesco Lacquaniti

Francesco Lacquaniti is an Italian neurologist and neuroscientist. He received his medical education and completed his Neurology residency at the University of Turin. He is professor emeritus of Physiology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, the Director of the Laboratory of Neuromotor Physiology at Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS Rome, and the President of the Italian Physiological Society. His research focuses on the laws of movement control in humans and other animals (including the two-thirds Power law, see Penmanship, Motor coordination, Affine curvature) and their development in children and alteration after neurological lesions (Developmental coordination disorder, Central facial palsy). He also studied the neural representation of spatial information in the brain (Brodmann area 5), the neural representation of gravity effects on the body (Mental model, Internal model (motor control)), and how the brain adapts to weightlessness (Locomotion in space). His studies have inspired the development of innovative neurorehabilitation protocols for patients with motor disorders (e.g. ). His scientific work has been covered in books and media. For his work, he received the Herlitzka International Prize for Physiology, was elected to the Consiglio Universitario Nazionale, was elected to the Academia Europaea, and received an Honorary Degree in Neurosciences from the Université Catholique de Louvain.

Selected publications