Our team has recently received a grant for a two-year project from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), under the PRIN initiative – Progetti di Ricerca di Interesse Nazionale (National Interest Research Projects).

Our research focuses on identifying potential biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease (PD) through eye tracking technology. The project will employ a combination of advanced techniques, including eye tracking, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and functional imaging methods (fMRI and EEG), to thoroughly study oculomotor control in both healthy individuals and those with PD.

The success of this research initiative hinges on the collaborative efforts of an amazing team of researchers. Leading the team is Dr. Giovanni Cirillo from Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, bringing in-depth knowledge in TMS and physiology. Dr. Giovanna Vermiglio will lead the research unit at Università degli Studi di Messina and she will oversee the imaging and anatomical aspects of our research. I, Dr. Antimo Buonocore, will lead the research unit of Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa, and I will work to integrate psychophysical and eye tracking methodologies within imaging and brain stimulation paradigms.

We are excited to commence this project on December 1st, 2023. Below, you will find a concise overview of our research program.

Visuo-motor assessment in Parkinson’s disease: a multimodal study

Among neurodegenerative disorders, Parkinson’s disease (PD) increasingly burdens individuals and poses challenges for healthcare systems, spurring the development of new tools and technologies for early diagnosis and treatment. This project proposes using eye-tracking technologies as a low-cost, non-invasive method to test oculomotor inhibition as potential biomarkers for PD. Additionally, the simultaneous acquisition of brain activity through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) will elucidate the structural and functional changes in brain activity associated with PD’s progression, observed in a series of test-retest paradigm studies at 6 and 12 months. Lastly, the project includes a clinical intervention protocol that employs transcranial magnetic stimulation on brain areas linked to dysfunctional oculomotor behavior, aiming to modify visuomotor deficits in PD patients. The project’s outcome is expected to enhance the overall understanding of PD, providing a deeper pathological characterization and, crucially, offering much-needed clinical tools and intervention methods to assist clinicians in making accurate PD diagnoses and prognoses.