Francesco Versace
Department of Behavioral Science, Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences
About Francesco Versace
My current line of researchfocuses on identifying the psychophysiological mechanisms that drive smokingand obesity, the two major causes of preventable disease and disabilities in the United States.By leveraging the spatial and temporal resolution of brain imaging techniques such as dense sensor array event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), my studies aim at characterizing the dysfunctional brain mechanisms that mediate maladaptive responses to rewards and reward-related cues. The ultimategoal of my work is to develop neurocircuitry-informed, tailored interventions for smoking cessation and weight loss.
In the News
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
My current line of research focuses on identifying the psychophysiological underpinnings of smoking and obesity, the two major causes of preventable disease and disabilities in the United States. By leveraging the spatial and temporal resolution of brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and dense sensor array event-related potentials (ERPs), my studies aim at characterizing the dysfunctional brain mechanisms that mediate maladaptive responses to rewards and reward-related cues. The ultimate goal of my line of research is to develop neurocircuitry-informed, tailored interventions for substance use disorders and weight-loss
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2003 | Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, IT, Experimental Psychology, Ph.D |
| 1997 | Universita' di Bologna, Bologna, IT, Psychology, Laurea |
Postgraduate Training
| 2003-2006 | Postdoctoral Research Associate, Affective Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2023
Member, Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience (OCNS), Oklahoma City, OK, 2016 - 2017
Associate Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center and Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 2015 - 2017
Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2011 - 2015
Duncan Family Institute Fellow, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - 2011
Instructor, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2007 - 2011
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, The University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2006 - 2007
Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Department of NIHM-Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, The University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2003 - 2006
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Co-Director, Neurobehavioral Health Theme, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2025 - Present
Director, Behavioral Research and Treatment Center (BRTC), Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2025 - Present
Co Chair Noninvasive Neurostimulation Workgroup, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2022 - 2023
Co Chair Biological Psychiatry Workgroup, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2020 - 2022
Steering Committee Member, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2017 - Present
Steering Committee Member, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2017 - 2019
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Laboratory Coordinator, Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, 2000 - 2003
Teaching Assistant, Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, 2000 - 2003
Research Assistant, Universita' di Padova, Padova, 1999
Thesis Supervisor, Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, 1998 - 2003
Institutional Committee Activities
Advisory Board Member, Decision Science Cores, 2023 - Present
Advisory Board Member, Assessment, Intervention and Measurement (AIM) Core, 2023 - Present
Committee Co-Chair, Scientific Review Committee #1 (SRC 1), 2022 - Present
Member, MD Anderson’s Core Facility Oversight Board, 2022 - Present
Content Expert, Psychosocial, Behavioral and Health Services Research, Scientific Review Committee #4, 2021 - 2022
Member, Neuroradiology Chair Search Committee, 2021 - 2022
Member, CCSG Cancer Prevention Program, 2020 - Present
Member, Faculty Academic Review Committee, 2019 - 2022
Member, Radiology Chair Search Committee, 2018 - 2019
Member, Department of Behavioral Science Faculty Search Committee, 2018 - Present
Member, Mental Health Cluster, 2018 - Present
Member, Psychosocial, Behavioral and Health Services Research Committee (PBHSRC), 2013 - 2015
Cancer Survivorship Scientific Poster Judge, 2013 Trainee Research Day, 2013
Member, Health Disparities Faculty Search Committee, 2013
Member, Department of Behavioral Science Faculty Search Committee, 2013
Faculty Advisor, Behavioral Science Research Education Forum (REF), 2013 - 2015
Member, Neuropsychology Faculty Search Committee, 2013
Honors & Awards
| 2016 | Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources Senior Mentor, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center |
| 2016 | Oklahoma TSET Research Scholar, Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Trust |
| 2013 | Nominee, Robert M. Chamberlain Distinguished Mentor Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Postdoctoral Executive Committee |
| 2012 | Poster Finalist, Cancer Survivorship Research Retreat, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2010 - 2011 | Junior Faculty Fellowship in Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment, Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Webber HE, Calvillo DJ, Versace F, de Dios C, Suchting R, Green CE, Lane SD, Schmitz JM. The late positive potential predicts contingency management outcomes for cocaine use disorder. Drug Alcohol Depend 274:112750, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40517503.
- Sambuco, N, Stevens, EM, Versace, F. Beneath the Surface of Self-Reports: Dissecting Subjective and Neural Responses to Age-Specific Visual Stimuli. Psychophysiology 62(2):e70013, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39924455.
- Pluta D, Hadj-Amar B, Li M, Zhao Y, Versace F, Vannucci M. Improved Data Quality and Statistical Power of Trial-Level Event-Related Potentials with Bayesian Random-Shift Gaussian Processes. Scientific reports 14(1), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38632350.
- Song, Z, Shen, W, Vannucci, M, Baldizon, A, Cinciripini, PM, Versace, F, Guindani, M. Clustering computer mouse tracking data with informed hierarchical shrinkage partition priors. Biometrics 80(4), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39475297.
- Larsen, B, Versace, F. EEG might be better left alone, but ERPs must be attended to: Optimizing the late positive potential preprocessing pipeline. Int J Psychophysiol 205:112441, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39299302.
- Cinciripini PM, Green CE, Shete S, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Cui Y, Kim S, Kypriotakis G, Beneventi D, Blalock JA, Versace F, Karam-Hage M. Smoking Cessation After Initial Treatment Failure With Varenicline or Nicotine Replacement: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 331(20):1722-1731, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38696203.
- Gibney KD, Kypriotakis G, Versace F. Individual differences in late positive potential amplitude and theta power predict cue-induced eating. Addiction neuroscience 7, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37711965.
- Yammine L, Verrico CD, Versace F, Webber HE, Suchting R, Weaver MF, Kosten TR, Alibhai H, Cinciripini PM, Lane SD, Schmitz JM. Exenatide as an adjunct to nicotine patch for smoking cessation and prevention of postcessation weight gain among treatment-seeking smokers with pre-diabetes and/or overweight: study protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. BMJ open 13(6):e072707, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37316311.
- Versace F, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM. Towards neuromarkers for tailored smoking cessation treatments. Addiction Neuroscience 6, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37034180.
- Versace F, Kypriotakis G, Pluta D. Neuroaffective reactivity profiles are associated with vulnerability to e-cigarette use Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 274, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37084510.
- Versace F Sambuco N, Deweese MM, Cinciripini PM. Electrophysiological normative responses to emotional, neutral, and cigarette-related images. Psychophysiology 60(3):e14196, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36316228.
- Webber HE, Yoon JH, de Dios C, Suchting R, Dang V, Versace F, Green CE, Wardle MC, Lane SD, Schmitz JM. Assessing cocaine motivational value: Comparison of brain reactivity bias toward cocaine cues and cocaine demand. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 31(4):861-867, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36480395.
- West T, Cavallero C, Ceccherini R, Foladore S, Generali D, Versace F, Scaggiante B. Impact of Psychosocial, Behavioral and Lifestyle Factors on Subjective Cognitive Complaints and Perceived Quality of Life in a Large Cohort of Italian Breast Cancer Patients. Front Psychol 13:1015573, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36438336.
- Webber HE, de Dios C, Wardle MC, Suchting R, Green CE, Schmitz JM, Lane SD, Versace F. Electrophysiological responses to emotional and cocaine cues reveal individual neuroaffective profiles in cocaine users. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 30(5):514-524, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 33630644.
- Robinson JD, Cui Y, Karam-Hage M, Kypriotakis G, Versace F, Ait-Daoud Tiouririne N, Anthenelli RM, Cinciripini PM. Topiramate decreases the salience of motivationally relevant visual cues among smokers with alcohol use disorder. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 46(3):384-395, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35037278.
- Delgado-Rodríguez R, Versace F, Hernández-Rivero I, Guerra P, Fernández-Santaella MC, Miccoli L. Food addiction symptoms are related to neuroaffective responses to preferred binge food and erotic cues. Appetite 168:105687, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34509546.
- Deweese MM, Versace F, Kypriotakis G, Dirba D, Daniel CR, Schembre SM. Satiety does not affect neuroaffective electrophysiological responses to food-related or emotional visual cues. Behav Neurosci 135(4):571-580, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33844564.
- Frank DW, Cinciripini PM, Deweese MM, Karam-Hage M, Kypriotakis G, Lerman C, Robinson JD, Tyndale RF, Vidrine DJ, Versace F. Toward precision medicine for smoking cessation: developing a neuroimaging-based classification algorithm to identify smokers at higher risk for relapse. Nicotine Tob Res 22(8):1277-1284, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31724052.
- Kypriotakis G, Cinciripini PM, Versace F. Modeling Neuroaffective Biomarkers of Drug Addiction: A Bayesian Nonparametric Approach using Dirichlet Process Mixtures. J Neurosci Methods 341:108753, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32428623.
- Gibney KD, Kypriotakis G, Cinciripini PM, Robinson JD, Minnix JA, Versace F. Estimating statistical power for event-related potential studies using the late positive potential. Psychophysiology 57(2):e13482, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31608456.
- Frank DW, Stevens EM, Versace F. A neurophysiological measure of reward sensitivity and its association with anhedonia in psychiatrically healthy adolescents and young adults. Int J Psychophysiol 141:56-64 doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.05.002, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31071360.
- Versace F, Frank DW, Stevens EM, Deweese MM, Guindani M, Schembre SM. The reality of "food porn": larger brain responses to food-related cues than to erotic images predict cue-induced eating. Psychophysiology 56(4):e13309 doi: 10.1111/psyp.13309, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30556253.
- Stevens EM, Frank D, Codispoti M, Kypriotakis G, Cinciripini PM, Claiborne K, Deweese MM, Engelmann JM, Green CE, Karam-Hage M, Minnix JA, Ng J, Robinson JD, Tyndale RF, Vidrine DJ, Versace F. The late positive potentials evoked by cigarette-related and emotional images show no gender differences in smokers. Sci Rep 1(9):3240, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30824792.
- Versace F, Stevens EM, Robinson JD, Cui Y, Deweese MM, Engelmann JM, Green CE, Karam-Hage M, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Brain responses to cigarette-related and emotional images in smokers during smoking cessation: no effect of varenicline or bupropion on the late positive potential. Nicotine Tob Res 21(2):234-240 doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntx264, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 29220524.
- Zhu H, Versace F, Cinciripini PM, Rausch P, Morris JS. Robust and Gaussian spatial functional regression models for analysis of event-related potentials. Neuroimage 181:501-512, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30057352.
- Deweese MM, Codispoti M, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM, Versace F. Cigarette cues capture attention of smokers and never-smokers, but for different reasons. Drug Alcohol Depend 185(185):50-57 doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.12.010, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29427915.
- Cinciripini PM, Minnix JA, Green CE, Robinson JD, Engelmann JM, Versace F, Wetter DW, Shete S, Karam-Hage M. An RCT with the combination of varenicline and bupropion for smoking cessation: clinical implications for front line use. Addiction 113(9):1673-1682, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29679432.
- Cinciripini PM, Green CE, Robinson JD, Karam-Hage M, Engelmann JM, Minnix JA, Wetter DW, Versace F. Benefits of varenicline vs. bupropion for smoking cessation: a Bayesian analysis of the interaction of reward sensitivity and treatment. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 234(11):1769-1779, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28275830.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Deweese MM, Robinson JD, Green CE, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage MA, Wetter DW, Schembre SM, Cinciripini PM. Beyond cue reactivity: non-drug-related motivationally relevant stimuli are necessary to understand reactivity to drug-related cues. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 19(6):663-669, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28486715.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Gilbert DG, Waters AJ, Gritz ER, Cinciripini PM. Attentional bias to smoking and other motivationally relevant cues is affected by nicotine exposure and dose expectancy. J Psychopharmacol 30(7):627-40, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27097731.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Gewirtz JC, Cinciripini PM. Individual differences in brain responses to cigarette-related cues and pleasant stimuli in young smokers. Drug Alcohol Depend 163:229-35, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27141838.
- Versace F, Kypriotakis G, Basen-Engquist K, Schembre SM. Heterogeneity in brain reactivity to pleasant and food cues: evidence of sign-tracking in humans. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 11(4):604-11, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26609106.
- Deweese MM, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM, Versace F. Conditioned cortical reactivity to cues predicting cigarette-related or pleasant images. Int J Psychophysiol 101:59-68, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26826400.
- Miccoli L, Delgado R, Guerra P, Versace F, Rodríguez-Ruiz S, Fernández-Santaella MC. Affective pictures and the open library of affective foods (OLAF): tools to investigate emotions toward food in adults. PLoS One 11(8):e0158991, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27513636.
- Zhang L, Guindani M, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Vannucci M. A spatio-temporal nonparametric Bayesian model of multi-subject fMRI data. Annals of Applied Statistics 10(2):638-666, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Deweese MM, Claiborne KN, Ng J, Dirba DD, Stewart HL, Schembre SM, Versace F. Dispensing apparatus for use in a cued food delivery task. MethodsX 2:446-57, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26870667.
- Meyer MJ, Coull BA, Versace F, Cinciripini P, Morris JS. Bayesian function-on-function regression for multilevel functional data. Biometrics 71(3):563-74, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25787146.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Slapin A, Oum R, Cinciripini PM. The motivational salience of cigarette-related stimuli among former, never, and current smokers. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 23(1):37-48, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25436840.
- Robinson JD, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Versace F, Waters AJ, Gilbert DG, Gritz ER, Cinciripini PM. The effects of nicotine dose expectancy and motivationally relevant distracters on vigilance. Psychol Addict Behav 28(3):752-60, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24841184.
- Zhang L, Guindani M, Versace F, Vannucci M. A spatio-temporal nonparametric Bayesian variable selection model of fMRI data for clustering correlated time courses. Neuroimage 95(95):162-175, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24650600.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Robinson JD, Jackson EF, Green CE, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage MA, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Prequit fMRI responses to pleasant and cigarette cues predict smoking cessation outcome. Nicotine Tob Res 16(16):697-708, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24376278.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Jackson EF, Slapin A, Cortese KM, Bevers TB, Schover LR. Brain responses to erotic and other emotional stimuli in breast cancer survivors with and without distress about low sexual desire: a preliminary fMRI study. Brain Imaging Behav 7(4):533-42, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23955492.
- Minnix JA, Versace F, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. The late positive potential (LPP) in response to varying types of emotional and cigarette stimuli in smokers: a content comparison. Int J Psychophysiol pii: S0167-8760((13)):00121-9, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23643564.
- Cui Y, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Karam-Hage M, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Dani JA, Kosten TR, Cinciripini PM. Alpha oscillations in response to affective and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Nicotine Tobacco Research 15(5):917-24, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23060019.
- Cinciripini PM, Robinson JD, Karam-Hage M, Minnix JA, Lam C, Versace F, Brown VL, Engelmann JM, Wetter DW. Effects of varenicline and bupropion sustained-release use plus intensive smoking cessation counseling on prolonged abstinence from smoking and on depression, negative affect, and other symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. JAMA Psychiatry 70(5):522-533, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23536105.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Karam-Hage M, Shete SS, Tomlinson GE, Chen TT, Wetter DW, Green CE, Cinciripini PM. The CHRNA3 rs578776 variant is associated with an intrinsic reward sensitivity deficit in smokers. Front Psychiatry 4:114, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24065931.
- Versace F, Lam CY, Engelmann JM, Robinson JD, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Beyond cue reactivity: blunted brain responses to pleasant stimuli predict long-term smoking abstinence. Addiction Biology 17(6):991-1000, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 21967530.
- Cui Y, Robinson JD, Versace F, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage M, Dani JA, Kosten TR, Wetter DW, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Differential cigarette-related startle cue reactivity among light, moderate, and heavy smokers. Addictive Behaviors 37(8):885-9, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22571920.
- Lam CY, Robinson JD, Versace F, Minnix JA, Cui Y, Carter BL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Affective reactivity during smoking cessation of never-quitters as compared with that of abstainers, relapsers, and continuing smokers. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 20(2):139-50, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22039752.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Robinson JD, Minnix JA, Lam CY, Cui Y, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Neural substrates of smoking cue reactivity: a meta-analysis of fMRI studies. Neuroimage 60(1):252-262, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22206965.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Jackson EF, Costa VD, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Do brain responses to emotional images and cigarette cues differ? An fMRI study in smokers. Eur J Neurosci 34(12):2054-63, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22097928.
- Versace F, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Brain reactivity to emotional, neutral, and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Addiction Biology 16(2):296-307, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21182573.
- Lang PJ, Wangelin BC, Bradley MM, Versace F, Davenport PW, Costa VD. Threat of suffocation and defensive reflex activation. Psychophysiology 48(3):393-6, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 20667037.
- Robinson JD, Lam CY, Carter BL, Minnix JA, Cui Y, Versace F, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. A multimodal approach to assessing the impact of nicotine dependence, nicotine abstinence, and craving on negative affect in smokers. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 19(1):40-52, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21341922.
- Costa VD, Lang PJ, Sabatinelli D, Versace F, Bradley MM. Emotional imagery: assessing pleasure and arousal in the brain's reward circuitry. Human Brain Mapping 31(9):1446-57, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20127869.
- Versace F, Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Memory and event-related potentials for rapidly presented emotional pictures. Experimental Brain Research 205(2):223-33, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20628736.
- Versace F, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Carter BL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Cigarette cues capture smokers' attention: evidence from event-related potentials. Psychophysiology 47(3):435-41, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20070579.
- Miccoli L, Versace F, Koterle S, Cavallero C. Comparing sleep-loss sleepiness and sleep inertia: lapses make the difference. Chronobiol Int 25(5):725-44, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18780200.
- Versace F, Mazzetti M, Codispoti M. The temporal stability of the effects induced by the cued reaction time task. Assessment 15(2):145-52, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18463405.
- Pastor MC, Bradley MM, Löw A, Versace F, Moltó J, Lang PJ. Affective picture perception: emotion, context, and the late positive potential. Brain Research 1189:145-151, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18068150.
- Sabatinelli D, Bradley MM, Lang PJ, Costa VD, Versace F. Pleasure rather than salience activates human nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex. J Neurophysiol 98(3):1374-1379, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17596422.
- Versace F, Cavallero C, De Min Tona G, Mozzato M, Stegagno L. Effects of sleep reduction on spatial attention. Biol Psychol 71(3):248-255, 2006. e-Pub 2006. PMID: 15978717.
- Versace F, Mozzato M, De Min Tona G, Cavallero C, Stegagno L. Heart rate variability during sleep as a function of the sleep cycle. Biological Psychology 63(2):149-162, 2003. e-Pub 2003. PMID: 12738405.
- Cavallero C, Versace F. Stage at awakening, sleep inertia, and cognitive performance. Sleep Research Online 5(3):89-97, 2003. e-Pub 2003.
Other Articles
- Versace F, Sambuco N, Deweese MM, Cinciripini PM Electrophysiological normative responses to emotional, neutral, and cigarette-related images. bioRxiv, 2023. PMID: 36316228.
- Gibney KD, Kypriotakis G, Versace F Individual differences in late positive potential amplitude and theta power predict cue-induced eating. bioRxiv, 2022.
- Versace F, Kypriotakis G Neuroaffective profiles are associated with e-cigarette use. bioRxiv, 2022.
Abstracts
- Webber, HE, Yoon JK, de Dios C, Suchting R, Green CE, Lane SD, Vincent J, Dang V, Wardle MC, Kypriotakis G, Versace F, Schmitz JM. Brain Reactivity Bias Toward Drug Versus Pleasant Cues is Associated with Drug Demand in Individuals With Cocaine Use Disorder. Poster presentation submitted to the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- West T, Scaggiante B, Ceccherini R, Foladore S, Generali D, Versace F, Cavallero, C. The relevance of chemobrain in breast cancer survivors: An Italian exploratory study to measure incidence and psycho-social impact. Cancer Research 82(4_Supplement):10-12, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Webber HE, Cavanagh JF, Green CE, Versace F, Lane SD, Schmitz JM. Time frequency analysis of the reward positivity in cocaine use disorder: A pilot study. Poster presentation submitted to the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Deweese MM, Frank D, Stevens E, Guindani M, Schembre S, Versace F. Larger late positive potential responses to food-related cues than to high-arousing pleasant images predict cue-induced eating. Psychophysiology 55(s1):s22, 2018. e-Pub 2018.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Cinciripini PM. Effect of the imminent possibility of smoking on brain responses to smoking-related stimuli. Psychophysiology 55(s1):s22, 2018. e-Pub 2018.
- Frank D, Stevens E, Wooten A, Wedel A, Versace F. ERPs to monetary reinforcement in individuals with high and low hedonic capacity. Psychophysiology 54(s1):s126, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Robinson J, Engelmann J, Cui Y, Versace F, Gilbert D, Waters A, Cinciripini P. Nicotine dose and dose expectancy facilitate stimulus categorization, but not automatic affective evaluation of cigarette stimuli. Psychophysiology 54(s1):s97, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Deweese, MM, Stewart H, Claiborne K, Robinson J, Cinciripini P, Codispoti M, Versace F. Effects of stimulus repetition on early and late brain responses to cigarette cues in smokers and never-smokers. Psychophysiology 54(s1):s93, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Stevens E, Cinciripini PM, Claiborne K, Deweese MM, Engelmann J, Frank D, Green C, Karam-Hage M, Lerman C, Minnix J, Ng J, Versace F. Differences between male and female smokers in brain responses to cigarette-related and emotional visual stimuli. Psychophysiology 54(s1):s82, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Schembre SM, Hoffman K, Versace F, Petrosino JF, Daniel-MacDougall CR. Gut microbiome profiles vary by the propensity to attribute incentive salience to palatable food cues in humans. Psychoneuroendocrinology 71:69, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Schembre SM, Hoffman K, Versace F, Petrosino JF, Daniel-MacDougall CR. Hedonic eating and the microbiome in humans. European Neuropsychopharmacology 26(2):s144, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Deweese MM, Stewart HL, Claiborne KN, Ng J, Cinciripini PM, Codispoti M, Versace F. Affective modulation of the late positive potential following repeated exposure to cigarette cues in smokers and never-smokers. Psychophysiology 53(1):s19, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Versace F, Deweese MM, Engelmann J, Claiborne KN, Ng J, Stewart HL, Dirba D, Schembre S. Individual differences in the propensity to attribute incentive salience to food-related cues predict eating behavior in humans. Psychophysiology 53(1):s56, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Jackson EF, Cinciripini, PM. Effect of the imminent possibility of smoking on brain responses to cigarette-related cues. SRNT 21st Annual meeting, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Gilbert DG, Waters AJ, Gritz ER, Cinciripini PM. ERP Measures of attentional bias to affective and smoking cue distracters are sensitive to smoking and smoking expectancy. Proceedings of 15th Meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco - Europe, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Gewirtz JC, Cuthbert BN, Cinciripini PM. Individual differences in brain responses to cigarette-related cues and pleasant stimuli in young smokers. Psychophysiology 51(1):s32, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Versace F, Dirba DD, Gilchrist TR, Cortese KM, Ng J, Slapin A, Claiborne KN, Basen-Engquist K, Schembre SM. Brain responses to food and other pleasant stimuli in overweight and lean individuals. Psychophysiology 51(1):s76, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Slapin A, Versace F, Robinson JD, Karam-Hage M, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Cui Y, Engelmann JM, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Affective ratings of cigarette-related, emotional, and neutral images in current smokers, smokers receiving smoking cessation treatment, and never smokers. SRNT 18th Annual Meeting, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Versace F, Robinson JD, Green C, Slapin A, Cui Y, Ng J, Engelmann JM, Karam-Hage M, Minnix JA, Lam CY, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Effects of smoking cessation treatment with varenicline, bupropion, or placebo on subjective tonic craving and ERPs to cigarette-related, emotional, and neutral images. Psychophysiology 50(1):s127, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Jackson EF, Robinson JD, Minnix JA, Lam CY, Karam-Hage M, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Effects of smoking cessation treatment with varenicline, bupropion, or placebo on self-reported affect and fMRI responses to cigarette-related, emotional, and neutral cues. Psychophysiology 50(1):S128, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Minnix JA, Versace F, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Engelmann JM, Cinciripini PM. Cognitive reappraisal in deprived and non-deprived smokers. Psychophysiology 50(1):S128, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Cui Y, Engelmann JM, Gilbert DG, Waters AJ, Gritz ER, Cinciripini PM. The impact of anticipated dose and nicotine dose on attentional distraction in overnight-deprived smokers. Psychophysiology 50(1):S128, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Robinson JD, Jackson EF, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage M, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Dissociation between brain responses to cigarette cues and natural rewards in smokers. Psychophysiology 49(S1):s13, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Cui Y, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Karam-Hage M, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Dani JA, Kosten TR, Cinciripini PM. Alpha oscillations in response to affective and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Psychophysiology 49(S1):s90, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Versace F, Lam CY, Engelmann JM, Robinson J D, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. It is not all about cigarettes: Blunted brain responses to pleasant stimuli predict long-term smoking abstinence. Psychophysiology 48(S1):s84, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Cui Y, Robinson JD, Versace F, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Dani JA, Kosten TR, Wetter DW, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. The impact of nicotine dependence vulnerability on the responses to unpleasant stimuli in smokers. Psychophysiology 48(S1):s114, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Minnix JA, Versace F, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Engelmann JM, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Brain reactivity to varying types of emotional and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Psychophysiology 48(S1):s114, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Lam CY, Robinson JD, Jackson EF, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Brain responses to pleasant stimuli predict smoking abstinence. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Robinson JD, Jackson EF, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage M, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Dissociation between brain responses to cigarette cues and natural rewards in smokers. Society for Psychophysiological Research 52nd Annual Meeting, 2012. e-Pub 2012.
- Cui, Y, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Karam-Hage M, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Dani JA, Kosten TR, Cinciripini PM. Alpha oscillations in response to affective and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Society for Psychophysiological Research 52nd Annual Meeting, 2012. e-Pub 2012.
- Minnix JA, Versace F, Robinson JD. Brain reactivity to varying types of emotional and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Psychophysiology 48:S114-S114, 2011. e-Pub 2011.
- Versace F, Lam CY, Engelmann JM, et al. It is not all about cigarettes: blunted brain responses to pleasant stimuli predict long-term smoking abstinence. Psychophysiology 48:S84-S84, 2011. e-Pub 2011.
- Cui Y, Robinson JD, Versace F, et al. The impacts of nicotine dependence severity and depression vulnerability on the responses to unpleasant stimuli in smokers. Psychophysiology 48:S94-S94, 2011. e-Pub 2011.
- Versace F, Jackson EF, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Processing of intrinsically emotional and cigarette-related images in smokers: An fMRI study. Psychophysiology 47(Supp 1):S2, 2010. e-Pub 2010.
- Cui Y, Robinson JD, Versace F, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Dani JA, Cinciripini PM. Differential startle cue reactivity in light and heavy smokers. Psychophysiology 47(Supp 1):S61, 2010. e-Pub 2010.
- Robinson JD, Lam CY, Carter BL, Minnix JA, Versace F, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. The impact of nicotine dependence and withdrawal on somatic and autonomic nervous system measures of affective response to emotional and cigarette-related images in smokers. Psychophysiology 47(Supp 1):S61, 2010. e-Pub 2010.
- Laconte SM, King-Casas B, Cinciripini PM, Eagleman DM, Versace F, Chiu PH. Modulating rt-fMRI neurofeedback interfaces via craving and control in chronic smokers. 15th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping:Elsevier47: page 45, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Chiu P, King-Casas B, Cinciripini PM, Versace F, Eagleman D, Lisinski J, Lindsey L, LaConte S. Real-time fMRI modulation of craving and control brain states in chronic smokers. 39th Annual Meeting of Society for Neuroscience (SfN), 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Lam CY, Robinson JD, Carter BL, Wetter DW, Versace F, Minnix JA, Cinciripini PM. Discrepancy between a psychophysiological index of emotional reactivity and self-report measures of affect among abstaining and non-abstaining smokers. Proceedings of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 2010, Baltimore, Maryland, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Versace F, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Event-related potentials to cigarette related and other intrinsically motivating stimuli. Psychophysiology 46(S1):s4, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Wangelin BC, Versace F, Bradley MM, Davenport P, Lang PJ. Threat of suffocation? Defensive activation and respiratory load. Psychophysiology 45(S1):s25, 2008. e-Pub 2008.
- Costa VD, Versace F, Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Neural networks underlying narrative emotional imagery. Psychophysiology 45(S1):s51, 2008. e-Pub 2008.
- Versace F, Robinson JD, Minnix JA, Lam CY, Carter BL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Startle probe P3 amplitude when viewing cigarette cues. Psychophysiology 45(S1):s105, 2008. e-Pub 2008.
- Versace F, Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Recognition memory for emotional and non-emotional pictures. Psychophysiology 44(s1):S82, 2007. e-Pub 2007.
- Sabatinelli D, Sivinski RG, Versace F, Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Reliable sources: Dense EEG and fast fMRI in affective perception. Psychophysiology 44(s1):S28, 2007. e-Pub 2007.
- Costa VD, Smyth JM, Versace F. A grimace within the heart: emotional suppression during affective picture processing. Psychosomatic Medicine 68:A-76, 2006. e-Pub 2006.
- Versace F, Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Recognition memory for emotional pictures presented at slow or fast rates. Psychophysiology 43(s1):S8, 2006. e-Pub 2006.
- Sabatinelli D, Versace F, Costa VD, Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Selective nucleus accumbens and medial frontal cortex activation in appetitive picture processing. Psychophysiology 43(s1):S84, 2006. e-Pub 2006.
- Versace F, Bradley, MM, Keil, A, Costa, VD, Miccoli, L, Lang, PJ. Remembering rapidly presented pictures: Conceptual and emotional features. Psychophysiology 42(s1):S127, 2005. e-Pub 2005.
- Sabatinelli D, Flaisch T, Versace F, Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Functional correlates of emotional imagery. Psychophysiology 41(s1):S17, 2004. e-Pub 2004.
- Versace F, Bradley, MM, Miccoli, L, Lang, PJ. Memory performance for rapidly presented pictures. Psychophysiology 41(s1):S56, 2004. e-Pub 2004.
- Cavallero C, Versace F, Jugovac D, Miccoli L. How sleep reduction affects spatial orienting. Journal of Sleep Research 11(1):34, 2002. e-Pub 2002.
- Versace F, Cavallero C, De Min Tona G, Mozzato M, Tucci V, Stegagno L. Riduzione di sonno e orientamento dell'attenzione visuospaziale. Medicina del Sonno Suppl.n.1:338-341, 2001. e-Pub 2001.
Letters to the Editor
- Versace F, Schembre SM. 'Obesogenic' oversimplification. Obes Rev 16: 702-3, 2015.
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2024. 2024 Houston Nutrition & Obesity Research Symposium. Invited. 2024 Houston Nutrition & Obesity Research Symposium. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2024. Leveraging neuroaffective biomarkers to personalize treatments for addictive behaviors. Conference. MDACC UTH Graduate School of Biomedical Science. Houston, TX, US.
- 2022. The Neuroaffective Underpinnings of Cue-induced Eating. Conference. UT MD Anderson Cancer. Houston, TX, US.
- 2021. Leveraging neuroaffective biomarkers to personalize treatments for addictive behaviors. Invited. The University of Houston HEALTH Research Institute. Houston, TX, US.
- 2021. Leveraging neuroaffective biomarkers to personalize treatments for addictive behaviors. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2018. Addiction Cluster. Conference. Gulf Coast Consortia. Houston, TX, US.
- 2017. The reality of “food porn”: larger brain responses to food-related than to erotic images predict eating behavior. Conference. Rice University Health Tea. Houston, TX, US.
- 2016. Addiction and brain reactivity to rewards: implications for smoking and eating behaviors. Conference. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Prevention Division Grand Rounds. Houston, TX, US.
- 2015. The treachery of images: brain reactivity to visual cues and sign tracking behavior in humans. Conference. Rice University. Houston, TX, US.
- 2015. Prequit fMRI responses to pleasant cues and cigarette-related cues predict smoking cessation outcomes. Conference. Global Academic Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, TX, US.
- 2015. Individual differences in reward sensitivity: implications for smoking and eating behaviors. Conference. University of Houston. Houston, TX, US.
- 2014. Individual differences in reward sensitivity: implications for smoking and eating behaviors. Conference. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Prevention Division Grand Rounds. Houston, TX, US.
- 2014. Neurobiological correlates of emotional reactivity and cue reactivity in smokers. Invited. The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Houston, TX, US.
- 2011. Emotions, nicotine addiction, and the brain: event-related potentials. Invited. Veterans Administration Hospital. Houston, TX, US.
- 2009. When smokers look at cues part 2: fMRI results during the presentation of neutral and emotional images. Conference. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, TX, US.
- 2009. Use of brain imaging techniques in the study of nicotine dependence. Conference. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, TX, US.
- 2009. When smokers look at cues: ERPs to emotional and neutral images. Invited. Veterans Administration Hospital. Houston, TX, US.
- 2009. When smokers look at cues: brain reactivity to emotional and neutral images. Conference. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Houston, TX, US.
National Presentations
- 2025. From Brain Waves to Behavior: Identifying Neuromarkers for Tailored Smoking and Obesity Treatments. Invited. CANCER CONTROL PROGRAM PRESENTATION. Columbus, Ohio, US.
- 2023. SPR 2023 Symposium Organizer Translating Models of Appetitive Motivation: From Rodents to Humans (And Vice-versa), A Friendly Controversial Thematic Session. Conference. Conference of the Society for Psychophysiological Research. New Orleans, LA, US.
- 2022. Brain Reactivity Bias Toward Drug Versus Pleasant Cues is Associated with Drug Demand in Individuals With Cocaine Use Disorder. Conference. College on Problems of Drug Dependence, US.
- 2022. Time frequency analysis of the reward positivity in cocaine use disorder: A pilot study. Conference. Cognitive Neuroscience Society, US.
- 2019. Using a neuroaffective biomarker to match smokers to either varenicline or nicotine patch treatment. Conference. Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. San Francisco, CA, US.
- 2017. The reality of "food porn": larger brain responses to food-related than to erotic images predict eating behavior. Invited. Gainesville, FL, US.
- 2017. The reality of "food porn": larger brain responses to food-related than to erotic images predict eating behavior. Invited. New Brunswick, NJ, US.
- 2017. Addiction and brain reactivity to rewards: implications for smoking and eating behaviors. Invited. Winston-Salem, NC, US.
- 2016. The treachery of images: individual differences in the attribution of incentive salience to rewards and reward-related cues, Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention. Invited. Gainesville, FL, US.
- 2016. Individual differences in reward sensitivity: implications for smoking and eating behaviors. Invited. Norman, OK, US.
- 2015. Individual differences in reward sensitivity: implications for smoking and eating behaviors. Invited. Oklahoma City, OK, US.
- 2015. Assessing reward sensitivity using event-related potentials: implications for smoking cessation and smoking prevention. Invited. 21st Meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. Philadelphia, PA, US.
- 2015. Cortical reactivity to pleasant and cigarette cues: a conditioning paradigm. Conference. Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco. Philadelphia, PA, US.
- 2012. Brain responses to pleasant stimuli predict smoking abstinence. Conference. SRNT. Houston, TX, US.
- 2012. Dissociation between brain responses to cigarette cues and natural rewards in smokers. Conference. 18th annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. Houston, TX, US.
- 2012. Impact of past chemotherapy on emotional processing: an fMRI study in breast cancer survivors. Conference. 2012 Cancer Survivorship Research Retreat. Houston, TX, US.
- 2011. Brain reactivity to varying types of emotional and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Conference. Soc Psychophysiol Res. Boston, MA, US.
- 2011. The impacts of nicotine dependence severity and depression vulnerability on the responses to unpleasant stimuli in smokers. Conference. Soc Psychophysiol Res. Boston, MA, US.
- 2011. It is not all about cigarettes: blunted brain responses to pleasant stimuli predict long-term smoking abstinence. Conference. Soc Psychophysiol Res. Boston, MA, US.
- 2011. Beyond cue reactivity: emotions, nicotine addiction, and the brain. Invited. University of Florida. Gainesville, FL, US.
- 2010. Look at that! Brain reactivity to emotional, neutral, and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Conference. SRNT Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD, US.
- 2010. Processing of intrinsically emotional and cigarette related images in smokers: an fMRI study. Oral communication presented at the symposium: B.O.L.D. statements on human reward processing. Invited. Conference of the Society for Psychophysiological Research. Portland, OR, US.
- 2009. When smokers look at cues: ERPs to emotional and neutral images. Invited. Tampa, FL, US.
- 2009. Event-related potentials to cigarette related and other intrinsically motivating stimuli. Oral communication presented at the symposium: Using event-related potentials to investigate affective processes in smokers. Invited. Conference of the Society for Psychophysiological Research. Austin, TX, US.
- 2009. Modulating realtime fMRI neurofeedback interfaces via craving and control in chronic smokers. Poster. Conference. Organization for Human Mapping. San Francisco, CA, US.
- 2008. Startle probe P3 amplitude when looking at cigarette cues. Conference. Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Annual Meeting. Portland, OR, US.
- 2007. Recognition memory for emotional and non-emotional pictures. Conference. Conference of the Society for Psychophysiological Research. Savannah, GA, US.
- 2004. Memory Performance for rapidly presented pictures. Conference. 2004 Conference of the Society for Psychophysiological Research. Santa Fe, NM, US.
International Presentations
- 2022. Leveraging neuroaffective biomarkers to personalize treatments for addictive behaviors. Conference. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Addictions Research Rounds, CA.
- 2018. Larger late positive potential responses to food-related cues than to high-arousing pleasant images predict cue-induced eating. Conference. Society for Psychophysiological Research. Quebec City, CA.
- 2017. Addiction and brain reactivity to rewards: implications for smoking and eating behaviors. Conference. Trieste, IT.
- 2015. Do former smokers still find cigarette-related stimuli to be motivationally salient?. Conference. World Conference on Tobacco or Health. Abu Dhabi, AE.
- 2015. The salience of cigarette-related stimuli: a comparison of former, current, and never smokers. Conference. International Convention of Psychological Science. Amsterdam, NL.
- 2014. Using event-related potentials to investigate reward sensitivity in smokers. Invited. 15th Meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco - Europe. Santiago de Compostela, ES.
- 2014. Individual differences in reward sensitivity: implications for smoking and eating behaviors. Invited. Granada, ES.
- 2011. Do cigarette cues differ from emotional images? An fMRI study in smokers. Conference. SRNT 2011 17th Annual Meeting. Toronto, CA.
- 2011. Do cigarette cues differ from emotional images? An fMRI study in smokers. Invited. SRNT 2011 17th Annual Meeting. Toronto, CA.
- 2006. Recognition memory for emotional pictures presented at slow or fast rates. Oral communication presented at the symposium: The role of emotional arousal in the modulation of visual perception and attention. Invited. Conference of the Society for Psychophysiological Research. Vancouver, CA.
- 2005. Remembering rapidly presented pictures: conceptual and emotional features. Conference. Conference of the Society for Psychophysiological Research. Lisbon, PT.
- 2002. La riduzione di sonno interferisce con lo spostamento nello spazio del focus attentivo?. Conference. Conference of the Italian Psychological Association. Bellaria, IT.
- 2002. How sleep reduction affects spatial orienting. Conference. Conference of the European Sleep Society. Reykjavík, IS.
- 2001. Un compito per valutare gli effetti della riduzione di sonno a carico della attenzione spaziale. Conference. Conference of the Italian Psychological Association. Alghero, IT.
- 2001. Effetti della riduzione parziale di sonno sul simple reaction time task e sul Grammatical Transformation Task. Conference. Conference of the Italian Psychological Association. Capri, IT.
- 2000. Reazioni Cardiovascolari e prestazioni cognitive in deprivazione acuta di sonno. Conference. Conference of the Italian Psychological Association. Capri, IT.
- 1999. Effetti della deprivazione di sonno sull’attenzione spaziale studiata attraverso il Paradigma di Posner. Conference. Conference of the Italian Psychological Association. Capri, IT.
- 1999. Lavoro a Turni e disagio fisico e psicologico. Indagine preliminare su un campione di 270 Infermieri. Conference. Conference of the Italian Psychological Association. Capri, IT.
- 1997. Effetti della riduzione di sonno su alcune performance cognitive. Conference. Conference of the Italian Psychological Association. Capri, IT.
- 1996. Tempo di sonno, stadio al momento del risveglio e performance cognitive nella veglia successiva. Conference. Conference of the Italian Psychological Association. Capri, IT.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2026 - 2029 |
| Title: | Personalized Neuromodulation for Obesity: A Bayesian Approach |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDDK |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| ID: | 1R01DK146869-01 |
| Date: | 2025 - 2028 |
| Title: | Personalized Brain Stimulation to Combat Obesity and Reduce Cancer Risk |
| Funding Source: | CPRIT |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| ID: | RP260065 |
| Date: | 2025 - 2030 |
| Title: | Predicting Weight Recurrence After Bariatric Surgery: Neurobehavioral Profiles as Early Indicators of Risk |
| Funding Source: | National Institutes of Health |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | 1R01DK145478-01 |
| Date: | 2025 - 2029 |
| Title: | Repurposing Semaglutide for the Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder: a Pilot Mechanistic Study |
| Funding Source: | UT Health at the Texas Medical Center, NIH |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| ID: | 1 R01DA062720-01 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2026 |
| Title: | Bayesian neurobehavioral phenotyping: from mechanism identification to personalized neuromodulation treatments |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | 1R61DA058276 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2025 |
| Title: | Personalized Neurostimulation for Smoking Cessation in Cancer Patients: An Image-Guided Approach |
| Funding Source: | MD Anderson Cancer Neuroscience Program |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | N/A |
| Date: | 2024 - 2026 |
| Title: | Houston Nutrition Obesity Research Center (H-NORC)- PILOT PROJECT: “Evaluating the Feasibility of Accelerated Theta Burst Stimulation as an Adjunct Therapy for Obesity: A Phase 1 Trial” |
| Funding Source: | Baylor College of Medicine |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | P700001066 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2026 |
| Title: | A Randomized Controlled Trial of Exenatide as an Adjunct to Dual NRT for Smoking Cessation and Prevention of Post-Cessation Weight Gain |
| Funding Source: | University of Tx Health Science Center - Houston |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1R01DA053241-01A1 |
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified June 24, 2025