Dr Silvia Rigato
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Email
srigato@essex.ac.uk -
Location
3.715, Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
I completed my BSc and MSc in Developmental and Educational Psychology at University of Padua, Italy. I then worked with Dr. Teresa Farroni at the Hospital of Monfalcone (Trieste), Italy, investigating face perception in newborns. I subsequently moved to London where I obtained a PhD at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, supervised by Professor Mark Johnson. I then spent 3 years working as a postdoc at the Goldsmiths InfantLab, directed by Dr. Andy Bremner, investigating the development of the neural basis of tactile localisation. I joined the Department of Psychology at the University of 糖心Vlog in September 2013. Grants 2017: Promoting awareness and practice in child wellbeing. Co-PI with Dr Maria Laura Filippetti. PVC Research Strategic Fund, 糖心Vlog (£3,374.25). 2015: Developing a screening tool to detect non-adaptive behaviours in developmental disorders. Co-PI with Dr. Karla Holmboe. PVC Research Seedcorn Fund, 糖心Vlog (£14,000). 2014-2016: Longitudinal Trajectories in Brain Function in Infancy. Co-PI with Dr. Karla Holmboe. Grand Challenges Explorations Round 13 (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation): Phase 1 Grant ($100,000). 2014: The emergence of face- and body-selective brain signatures in infants. Co-PI with Dr. Helge Gillmeister. Research Promotion Fund, Department of Psychology, 糖心Vlog (£3,964). 2013: 糖心Vlog Babylab. Research Promotion Fund, Department of Psychology, 糖心Vlog (£3,545). 2013-2014: Development of the neural basis of shared touch in human infancy. British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant (£9,295). Co-PI with Dr. Andrew Bremner. 2006-2009: Marie Curie Early Career Fellowship (PhD funding).
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Face and emotion processing in infancy.
I am interested in the infants ability of integrating the information coming from the eye region and the emotional expression. There is growing evidence that infants, and even newborns, are expert in recognizing faces and processing their inner features. They show visual preferences and different brain activation according to specific gaze-expression combinations.
The development of body representation and tactile localisation.
As we move and act on the world, we need to continuously update the sense of our posture and the position of our limbs (body schema). This involves taking into account the visual and proprioceptive cues about our body, based on which a mental representation of the body is formed. I investigate how infants develop the ability to locate a touch on their body while taking into account their own postural changes.
The development of the neural basis of shared touch.
When observing the experiences of others, we not only understand what they experience but often empathically share their states. One set of mechanisms that contribute to this ability are neural regions where seeing the states of others triggers representations of corresponding states in our brain. I study how this process develops in the infant brain.
Perinatal mental health.
The mother鈥檚 ability to respond appropriately to the infant鈥檚 communicative signals and her emotional sensitivity are key factors in the child鈥檚 cognitive and socio-emotional development. I am interested in studying how prenatal and postnatal maternal changes influence child鈥檚 development in the first year of life.
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Psychology of Health (PS423)
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Making connections: How children develop (PS507)
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Special Topics in Psychology (PS933)
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Special Topics in Individual Differences and Developmental Psychology (PS938)
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Advanced Psychology of Health (PS951)
Previous supervision
Degree subject: Psychology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 30/4/2025
Degree subject: Clinical Psychology (D Clin Psych)
Degree type: Professional Doctorate
Awarded date: 9/1/2024
Degree subject: Electronic Systems Engineering
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 6/7/2022
Degree subject: Computer Science
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 6/7/2022
Degree subject: Psychology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 4/3/2020
Publications
Publications (3)
Rigato, S., Vrticka, P., Stets, M. and Holmboe, K., (2023). Mother-infant interaction characteristics associate with infant falling reactivity and child peer problems at pre-school age
Rigato, S., Stets, M., Charalambous, S., Dvergsdal, H. and Holmboe, K., (2022). Infant visual preference for the mother鈥檚 face and longitudinal associations with emotion regulation in the first year of life
Filippetti, ML., Clarke, A. and Rigato, S., (2021). The mental health crisis of expectant women in the UK: effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on prenatal mental health, antenatal attachment and social support
Journal articles (32)
Filippetti, ML., Clarke, ADF. and Rigato, S., . BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 22 (1), 22-68
Rigato, S., Stets, M., Dvergsdal, H. and Holmboe, K., (2025). Infant neural processing of mother鈥檚 face is associated with falling reactivity in the first year of life. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 71, 101502-101502
Rigato, S., Vrticka, P., Stets, M. and Holmboe, K., (2024). . PLoS One. 19 (6), e0302661-e0302661
Rigato, S., De Sepulveda, R., Richardson, E. and Filippetti, ML., (2024). . Child Development. 95 (5), 1797-1810
Filippetti, ML., Andreu-Perez, J., De Klerk, C. and Rigato, S., (2023). . NeuroImage. 265, 119756-119756
Rigato, S., Stets, M., Charalambous, S., Dvergsdal, H. and Holmboe, K., (2023). . Scientific Reports. 13 (1), 10263-
Rigato, S., Filippetti, ML. and De Klerk, CJM., (2023). . Scientific Reports. 13 (1), 14091-
Filippetti, ML., Clarke, ADF. and Rigato, S., (2022). . BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 22 (1), 68-
Morris, AJ., Filippetti, ML. and Rigato, S., (2022). . Child Development Perspectives. 16 (2), 103-109
Andreu-Perez, J., Hagras, H., Kiani, M., Rigato, S. and Filippetti, ML., (2022). . IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine. 17 (1), 16-33
Rigato, S., Charalambous, S., Stets, M. and Holmboe, K., (2022). . Infant Behavior and Development. 67, 101717-101717
de Klerk, CCJM., Filippetti, ML. and Rigato, S., (2021). . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 288 (1949), 20210070-
Andreu-Perez, J., Emberson, LL., Kiani, M., Filippetti, ML., Hagras, H. and Rigato, S., (2021). . Communications Biology. 4 (1), 1077-
Rigato, S., Stets, M., Bonneville-Roussy, A. and Holmboe, K., (2020). . Social Development. 29 (4), 1115-1133
Rigato, S., Charalambous, S., Stets, M. and Holmboe, K., (2020). Maternal depressive symptoms and infant temperament in the first year of life predict child behaviour at 36 months of age. Infant Behavior and Development
Rigato, S., Banissy, MJ., Romanska, A., Thomas, R. and van Velzen, J., (2019). . Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 35, 75-80
Rigato, S., Bremner, AJ., Gillmeister, H. and Banissy, MJ., (2019). . Biological Psychology. 146, 107719-107719
Gillmeister, H., Stets, M., Grigorova, M. and Rigato, S., (2019). . Developmental Psychology. 55 (10), 2025-2038
(2019). Supplemental Material for How Do Bodies Become Special? Electrophysiological Evidence for the Emergence of Body-Related Cortical Processing in the First 14 Months of Life. Developmental Psychology
Gillmeister, H., Bowling, N., Rigato, S. and Banissy, MJ., (2017). . Multisensory Research. 30 (6), 485-508
Rigato, S., Rieger, G. and Romei, V., (2016). . Scientific Reports. 6 (1), 26188-
Rigato, S., Begum聽Ali, J., van聽Velzen, J. and Bremner, AJ., (2014). . Current Biology. 24 (11), 1222-1226
Rigato, S., Bremner, AJ., Mason, L., Pickering, A., Davis, R. and van Velzen, J., (2014). The electrophysiological time course of somatosensory spatial remapping: vision of the hands modulates effects of posture on somatosensory evoked potentials. European Journal of Neuroscience. 39 (4), 703-703
Rigato, S., Menon, E., Farroni, T. and Johnson, MH., (2013). . British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 31 (1), 15-29
Bremner, AJ., Hill, EL., Pratt, M., Rigato, S. and Spence, C., (2013). . PLoS ONE. 8 (1), e51887-e51887
Rigato, S., Bremner, AJ., Mason, L., Pickering, A., Davis, R. and van Velzen, J., (2013). . European Journal of Neuroscience. 38 (6), 2884-2892
Rigato, S., Menon, E., Gangi, VD., George, N. and Farroni, T., (2013). . International Journal of Behavioral Development. 37 (2), 154-159
Rigato, S. and Farroni, T., (2013). . Emotion Review. 5 (1), 36-40
Rigato, S., Menon, E., Johnson, MH., Faraguna, D. and Farroni, T., (2011). . Infant and Child Development. 20 (1), 20-34
Rigato, S., Menon, E., Johnson, MH. and Farroni, T., (2011). . European Journal of Developmental Psychology. 8 (5), 624-636
Rigato, S., Farroni, T. and Johnson, MH., (2010). . Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 5 (1), 88-97
Farroni, T., Menon, E., Rigato, S. and Johnson, MH., (2007). . European Journal of Developmental Psychology. 4 (1), 2-13
Conferences (1)
Kiani, M., Andreu-Perez, J., Hagras, H., Filippetti, ML. and Rigato, S., (2020).
Reports and Papers (1)
Rigato, S., Stets, M., Bonneville-Roussy, A. and Holmboe, K., (2018). Impact of maternal depressive symptoms on the development of infant temperament: Cascading effects during the first year of life
Grants and funding
2023
Public Engagement Evidence & Search Support BabyLab
糖心Vlog (QR Impact Fund)
The role of multisensory experience in the development of body representations
Economic and Social Research Council
2022
Enhancing BabyBrains锟� programme with 糖心Vlog Babylab research to improve parent-baby relationships
糖心Vlog (ESRC IAA)
2014
Longitudinal Trajectories in Brain Function in Infancy
Grand Challenges (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
