Giovanni Pellegrino, MD., Postdoctoral fellow

Giovanni

Giovanni Pellegrino was born in Caserta (Italy) in 1982. He received his degree as MD at Campus BioMedico University of Rome (Italy) in 2007 and completed his residency program as Neurologist at the same University in 2013. His main research concentration is brain plasticity. Primarily, he is interested in the study about the mechanisms which sustain sensory-motor integration and learning in healthy subjects, those involved in neurological disease (maladaptive plasticity) and in functional recovery. He developed his research skills and interests bringing advanced neurophysiological techniques from the neurophysiology lab to the clinic for addressing and harnessing brain plasticity.

Contact Info

  • Multimodal Functional Imaging Laboratory
  • Department of Biomedical Engineering , McGill University
  • Address: 332 Duff Medical Building, 3775 rue University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
  • Phone: (514) 398–1678
  • Fax: (514) 398–7461
  • Email:giovannipellegrino@gmail.com
  • Homepage:

Research Interests

His main clinical interest is epilepsy. He mainly employs EEG, non invasive brain stimulation and their combination in a multimodal fashion, both during wakefulness and during sleep. He started his neuroscience studies in Prof. Keller’s lab in medical school, working on reelin protein; then he moved to advanced neurophysiology and brain stimulation. In medical school and his residency he studied under Prof. PM Rossini (EEG-MEG-TMS), Prof. HR Siebner (EEG, TMS, Multimodal Neuroimaging), Prof. F Tecchio (EEG and MEG) and Prof. Di Lazzaro (Non Invasive Brain Stimulation). Currently he is working on Simultaneous ElectroEncephaloGraphy (EEG) - MagnetoEncephaloGraphy (MEG) and Simultaneous EEG - Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (NIRS) in epilepsy patients.

His main scientific interests - Brain plasticity; - Sensory-motor system; -Epilepsy; - HD EEG; - Non-invasive brain stimulation

Publications

Peer-reviewed articles

2016

Pellegrino G, Tombini M, Curcio G, Campana C, Di Pino G, Assenza G, Di Lazzaro V. Modulation of slow activity in focal epilepsy during sleep and wakefulness. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, under revision

Pellegrino G, Hedrich T, Chowdhury R, Lina JM, Dubeau F, Hall J, Kobayashi E, Grova C. Source localization of the seizure onset zone from ictal EEG/MEG data. Human Brain Mapping, 2016 Apr 5. doi0.1002/hbm.23191. [Epub ahead of print].

Pellegrino G, Machado A, Von Ellenrieder N, Watanabe S, Lina JM, Hall J, Kobayashi E, Grova C. Hemodynamic response to Interictal Epileptiform Discharges addressed by personalized EEG-fNIRS recordings. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2016 Mar 22;10:102. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00102. eCollection 2016.

Di Lazzaro V., Capone F., Di Pino G., Pellegrino G., Florio L., Zollo L., Simonetti D., Ranieri F., Brunelli N., Corbetto M., Miccinilli S., Bravi M., Guglielmelli E. and Sterzi S. Combining robotic training and non-invasive brain stimulation in severe upper limb-impaired chronic stroke patients. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2016 Mar 8;10:88. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00088. eCollection 2016.

Vasta R., Cerasa A., Gramigna V., Augimeri A., Olivadese G., Pellegrino G., Martino I., Machado A., Caracciolo M., Grova C., Quattrone A. The Movement Time Analyser task investigated with functional Near InfraRed Spectroscopy: an ecologic approach for measuring hemodynamic response in the motor system. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 2016 Apr 7. [Epub ahead of print].

Di Lazzaro V., Pellegrino G., Di Pino G., Ranieri F., Lotti F., Florio L., Capone F.. Human motor cortex functional changes in acute stroke: gender effects. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2016 Jan 29;10:10.

Von Ellenrieder N., Pellegrino G., Hedrich T., Gotman J., Lina J-M, Grova C., Kobayashi E.. Detection and magnetic source imaging of fast oscillations (40–160 Hz) recorded with magnetoencephalography. Brain Topography, 2016 Mar;29(2):218–31.

Di Pino G, Pellegrino G, Capone F, Assenza G, Florio L, Falato E, Lotti F, Di Lazzaro V. Val66Met BDNF Polymorphism Implies a Different Way to Recover From Stroke Rather Than a Worse Overall Recoverability. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2016 Jan;30(1):3–8.

2015

Dubbioso R, Pellegrino G, Antenora A, De Michele G, Filla A, Santoro L, Manganelli F. The Effect of Cerebellar Degeneration on Human Sensori-motor Plasticity. Brain Stimul. 2015 Nov-Dec;8(6):1144–50.

Pellegrino G, Raffin E, Di Lazzaro V, Thielscher A, Siebner HR. Bringing transcranial mapping into shape: Sulcus-aligned mapping captures motor somatotopy in human primary motor hand area. Neuroimage. 2015 Oct 15;120:164–75.

Di Lazzaro V, Pellegrino G, Di Pino G, Corbetto M, Ranieri F, Brunelli N, Paolucci M, Bucossi S, Ventriglia MC, Brown P, Capone F. Val66Met BDNF Gene Polymorphism Influences Human Motor Cortex Plasticity in Acute Stroke. Brain Stimul. 2015 Jan-Feb;8(1):92–6.

Assenza G, Mecarelli O, Tombini M, Pulitano P, Pellegrino G, Benvenga A, Assenza F, Campana C, Di Pino G, Di Lazzaro V. Hyperventilation induces sympathetic overactivation in mesial temporal epilepsy. Epilepsy Res. 2015 feb;110:221–7. Doi: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2014.12.003. Epub 2014 dec 13. Pubmed PMID: 25616476.

Landi D, Vollaro S, Pellegrino G, Mulas D, Ghazaryan A, Falato E, Pasqualetti P, Rossini PM, Filippi MM. Oral fingolimod reduces glutamate-mediated intracortical excitability in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Clin Neurophysiol. 2015 Jan;126(1):165–9.

2014

Di Pino G, Pellegrino G, Assenza G, Capone F, Ferreri F, Formica D, Ranieri F, Tombini M, Ziemann U, Rothwell JC, Di Lazzaro V. Modulation of brain plasticity in stroke: a novel model for neurorehabilitation. Nat Rev Neurol. 2014 Oct;10(10):597–608. doi: 10.1038/nrneurol.2014.162. Epub 2014 Sep 9. PubMed PMID: 25201238.

Di Lazzaro V, Pellegrino G, Di Pino G, Corbetto M, Ranieri F, Brunelli N, Paolucci M, Bucossi S, Ventriglia MC, Brown P, Capone F. Val66Met BDNF gene polymorphism influences human motor cortex plasticity in acute stroke. Brain Stimul. 2015 Jan-Feb;8(1):92–6. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2014.08.006. Epub 2014 Aug 23. PubMed PMID: 25241287.

Assenza G, Pellegrino G, Tombini M, Di Pino G, Di Lazzaro V. Wakefulness delta waves increase after cortical plasticity induction. Clin Neurophysiol. 2014 Oct 12. pii: S1388–2457(14)00534–3. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2014.09.029. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 25631611.

Assenza G, Mecarelli O, Tombini M, Pulitano P, Pellegrino G, Benvenga A, Assenza F, Campana C, Di Pino G, Di Lazzaro V. Hyperventilation induces sympathetic overactivation in mesial temporal epilepsy. Epilepsy Res. 2015 Feb;110:221–7. doi: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2014.12.003. Epub 2014 Dec 13. PubMed PMID: 25616476.

Landi D, Vollaro S, Pellegrino G, Mulas D, Ghazaryan A, Falato E, Pasqualetti P, Rossini PM, Filippi MM. Oral fingolimod reduces glutamate-mediated intracortical excitability in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Clin Neurophysiol. 2015 Jan;126(1):165–9. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2014.05.031. Epub 2014 Jun 19. PubMed PMID: 25022794.

Di Lazzaro V, Dileone M, Capone F, Pellegrino G, Ranieri F, Musumeci G, Florio L, Di Pino G, Fregni F. Immediate and late modulation of interhemipheric imbalance with bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation in acute stroke. Brain Stimul. 2014 Nov-Dec;7(6):841–8. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2014.10.001. Epub 2014 Oct 13. PubMed PMID: 25458712.

Capone F., Corbetto M., Barbato C., Pellegrino G., & Di Pino G. An Open Label, One Arm, Dose Escalation Study to Evaluate The Safety of Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields in Acute Ischemic Stroke. Austin J Cerebrovasc Dis & Stroke, (2014) 1(1), 1002.

Di Pino, G., Pellegrino, G., Capone, F., & Di Lazzaro, V. Human Cerebral Cortex Metaplasticity and Stroke Recovery. Austin J Cerebrovasc Dis & Stroke, 2014,1(1), 1001.

2013

Tombini M, Squitti R, Cacciapaglia F, Ventriglia M, Assenza G, Benvenga A, Pellegrino G, Campana C, Assenza F, Siotto M, Pacifici L, Afeltra A, Rossini PM. “Inflammation and iron metabolism in adult patients with epilepsy: Does a link exist?” Epilepsy Res. 2013 Sep 28. doi:pii: S0920–1211(13)00250–7. 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2013.09.010. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24128993.

Assenza G, Campana C, Tombini M, Cosimo Quattrocchi C, Giambattistelli F, Benvenga A, Pellegrino G, Assenza F, Vernieri F, Di Lazzaro V. “Osteomalacic myopathy: An uncommon side effect of antiepileptic drugs” Muscle Nerve. 2013 Nov;48(5):837–8. doi: 10.1002/mus.23925. Epub 2013 Jul 15. PubMed PMID: 23761293.

Tombini M, Pellegrino G, Di Pino G, Assenza G. “Zonisamide for seizures in Parkinson’s disease with dementia” Seizure.’ 2013 May;22(4):324–5. Doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2013.01.011. Epub 2013 Feb 8. PubMed PMID: 23403093.

Pennimpede G, Spedaliere L, Formica D, Di Pino G, Zollo L, Pellegrino G, Di Lazzaro V, Guglielmelli E. [[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24111181 | “Hot spot hound: A novel robot-assisted platform for enhancing TMS performance”]] Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2013 Jul;2013:6301–4. Doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2013.6610994. PubMed PMID: 24111181.

Di Lazzaro V, Ranieri F, Capone F, Pilato F, Profice P, Pellegrino G, Musumeci G, Florio L, Dileone M. “Motor Cortex Stimulation for ALS: Open Label Extension Study of a Previous Small Trial” Brain Stimul. 2013 Sep 25. doi:pii: S1935–861X(13)00280–5. 10.1016/j.brs.2013.08.008. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24120768.

Giambattistelli F, Tomasevic L, Pellegrino G, Porcaro C, Melgari JM, Rossini PM, Tecchio F. “The spontaneous fluctuation of the excitability of a single node modulates the internodes connectivity: A TMS-EEG stud” Hum Brain Mapp. 2013 May 14. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22288.

2012

Pellegrino G, Tomasevic L, Tombini M, Assenza G, Bravi M, Sterzi S, Giacobbe V, Zollo L, Guglielmelli E, Cavallo G, Vernieri F, Tecchio F. “Inter-hemispheric coupling changes associate with motor improvements after robotic stroke rehabilitation” Restor Neurol Neurosci. 2012;30(6):497–510.

Tombini M, Pellegrino G, Pasqualetti P, Assenza G, Benvenga A, Fabrizio E, Rossini PM. “Mobile phone emissions modulate brain excitability in patients with focal epilepsy” Brain Stimul. 2012 Aug 9

Landi D, Benvenga A, Quattrocchi CC, Vollero L, Assenza G, Pellegrino G, Campana C, Vernieri F, Tombini T. Complex epileptic palilalia: a case report and review of literature. Seizure. 2012 Oct;21(8):655–7

Di Pino G, Porcaro C, Tombini M, Assenza G, Pellegrino G, Tecchio F and Rossini P.M. A neurally-interfaced hand prosthesis tuned inter-hemispheric communication Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. Restor Neurol Neurosci. 2012;30(5):407–18.

Vecchio F, Tombini M, Buffo P, Assenza G, Pellegrino G, Benvenga A, Babiloni C and Rossini PM. “Mobile phone emission increase inter-hemispheric functional coupling of EEG rhythms in epilepsy” Int J Psychophysiol. 2012; 84:164–71.

Tombini M, Pellegrino G, Zappasodi F, Quattrocchi CC, Assenza G, Melgari JM, Parisi L, Vernieri F, Rossini PM. “Complex visual hallucinations after occipital extrastriate ischemic stroke” Cortex. 2012 Jun;48(6):774–7.

2011

Campana C, Tombini M, Assenza G, Pellegrino G, Benvenga A, Assenza F, Ursini F, Vernieri F, Rossini PM. “Nonconvulsive seizures and dementia: a case report” Int J Alzheimers Dis. 2011 Apr 13;2011:690305.

2009

Tombini M, Zappasodi F, Zollo L, Pellegrino G, Cavallo G, Tecchio F,Guglielmelli E, Rossini PM. Brain activity preceding a 2D manual catching task. Neuroimage. 2009 Oct 1;47(4):1735–46.

Invited Talks

2015 - Campus Biomedico University of Rome. Title: Multimodal investigation of focal epilepsy combining EEG with MEG, fMRI and fNIRS. Rome, Italy

2015 - Montreal Neurological Institute Epilepsy Day 2015. Title: Source localization of the seizure onset zone from ictal EEG/MEG data. Montreal, Canada

2014 - fNIRS Course of the “Society for functional near-infrared spectroscopy”. Title: Simultaneous EEG/fNIRS acquisition in epilepsy. Montreal, Canada

2014 - Dartmouth Rennes MNI Epilepsy Symposium. Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital. Title: Personalized simultaneous EEG-NIRS to assess the neurovascular coupling in focal epilepsy. Montreal, Canada