Paolo Frigio Nichelli

Paolo Frigio Nichelli is an academic and former professor of neurology at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. His research focuses on cognitive neurology, neuroimaging, and neuropsychology.

As of 2025, his research has received over 14,000 citations according to Google Scholar.

Education and career Nichelli earned his degree in Medicine from the University of Milan in 1973. He began his academic career in 1977 at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia as an assistant professor, a position he held until 1986. He was subsequently promoted to associate professor and later to full professor, serving in the latter role from 2001 to 2019. He later continued his research as a senior professor within the university’s Biomedical, Metabolic, and Neuroscience Departments.

From 2001 to 2005, Nichelli was president of the Italian Neuropsychological Society. language, and praxis and contributed to the classification of perceptual and associative forms of face recognition disorders and to the understanding of hemispheric damage.

Nichelli also applied functional neuroimaging techniques, including positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to the study of cognition. He also addressed the neural correlates of pain anticipation, emotional processing, and executive functions. His research has also extended to humor and social cognition. Additionally, he has co‑authored studies on the effects of dopaminergic therapy on problem‑solving in Parkinson’s disease, the neural processing of disparagement humor, His later research has focused on stroke treatment and neurodegenerative disorders.

Selected Articles