You can also find my publications on Scholar. Here is a list of 10+ accepted abstracts for international conferences.
For any request or further information contact me at demetrio[dot]ferro[at]upf[dot]edu.
Peer-reviewed publications
2026 | Accumulation of virtual tokens towards a jackpot reward enhances performance and value encoding in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex Demetrio Ferro🖂, Habiba Azab, Benjamin Y. Hayden and Rubén Moreno-Bote Nature Communications, 17:4575, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-70423-1; Data and code: repository, PDF: 🗎Nat Commun, bioRxiv, ResearchSquare; 🖂Corresponding Author. In proximity of a jackpot, subjects perform choices faster and more accurately, reflecting a fundamental shift in their evaluation strategy. The value of alternative choice options is referenced to a cumulative tokens count that leads to jackpot achievement upon reaching a fixed threshold. Neural activity in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex tracked this reference-dependent shift, revealing a neural basis for reward proximity in decision-making. |
2025 | A closed-loop model for the coordination of gaze control and decision-making Demetrio Ferro🖂, Tianming Yang, Rubén Moreno Bote Cognitive, Computational Neuroscience (CCN), 2025; PDF: 🗎CCNeuro; 🖂Corresponding Author. This work introduces a closed-loop model linking gaze behavior with value-based decision making. Visual input drives competing decision populations, which guide gaze shifts that feed back into the decision process. Simulations capture key behavioral dynamics, offering a framework to study how gaze shapes neural and decision-related activity. |
| Decision-making reference point biases in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex Demetrio Ferro🖂, Habiba Azab, Benjamin Y. Hayden, Rubén Moreno Bote Cognitive, Computational Neuroscience (CCN), 2025; PDF: 🗎CCNeuro; 🖂Corresponding Author. As decision-making agents approach a reward threshold, the choice formation process becomes faster and more accurate. This shift is a clear indication of a context-dependent change in how value is assigned to potential outcomes. Activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex tracks this dynamical evaluation, shaping decision-making based on reward proximity. | |
2024 | Gaze-centered gating, reactivation, and reevaluation of economic value in orbitofrontal cortex Demetrio Ferro🖂, Tyler Cash-Padgett, Maya Zhe-Wang, Benjamin Y. Hayden, Rubén Moreno Bote Nature Communications, 15:6163, 2024 DOI:10.1038/s41467-024-50214-2; Data and code: repository; PDF: 🗎NatCommun, bioRxiv, ResearchSquare; 🖂Corresponding Author. Gaze behavior strongly influences decision making during economic choices. Looking at the screen locations where options are or were presented activates or reactivates their value encoding in orbitofrontal cortex. This reactivation correlates with upcoming choices, indicating that gaze plays an active role in reevaluating internal representations. |
2023 | The role of gaze for value encoding and recollection in orbitofrontal cortex Demetrio Ferro🖂, Anna Rifé Mata, Tyler Cash-Padgett, Maya Zhe-Wang, Benjamin Y. Hayden, Rubén Moreno Bote Cognitive, Computational Neuroscience (CCN), 2023 DOI:10.32470/CCN.2023.1122-0; PDF: 🗎CCNeuro; 🖂Corresponding Author. Gaze is drawn more to valuable options and predicts choice outcomes. Orbitofrontal cortex activity enhances the encoding for fixated locations and suppression of alternatives. These findings suggest that gaze supports internal deliberation by modulating neural value signals. |
2021 | Directed information exchange between cortical layers in macaque V1 and V4 and its modulation by selective attention Demetrio Ferro, Jochem van Kempen, Michael Boyd, Stefano Panzeri🖂, Alexander Thiele🖂 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 118 (12), e2022097118, 2021 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022097118; Data and code: repository; PDF: 🗎PNAS, bioRxiv; 🖂Corresponding Authors. This work maps how visual and attentional information propagate within and between cortical areas V1 and V4 at laminar resolution. Results show interlaminar and interareal circuit motifs, attention-related shift in the gamma-band spectral peak, and increased high-frequency power. Attention reduced local communication within V1 but enhanced both feedforward and feedback signaling across areas, especially in the gamma band. |
2016 | Nearest neighbour search using binary neural networks Demetrio Ferro🖂, Vincent Gripon, Xiaoran Jiang. International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN), IEEE, 5106-5112, 2016 DOI:10.1109/IJCNN.2016.7727873; PDF: 🗎IEEE; 🖂Corresponding Author. Nearest neighbor search is a common task in computer vision and pattern recognition whose complexity grows with data dimensionality. The method proposed here combines Product Quantization with neural networks to outperform state-of-the-art methods both in efficiency and scalability, achieving about 95% reduction in classification on MNIST dataset, and 77% reduction in nearest neighbor search on TEXMEX SIFT1M dataset. |
Preprints and other publications