The University of Sheffield
Department of Neuroscience

Professor Annalena Venneri

Annalena Venneri

Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology

Department of Neuroscience
University of Sheffield
Royal Hallamshire Hospital
N floor, room N130
Glossop Road
Sheffield
S10 2JF

Tel: +44 (0) 114 271 3430
Fax: +44 (0) 114 271 3158
Email: a.venneri@sheffield.ac.uk

Academic Secretary: Lorraine Henery
Tel: + 44 (0)114 2222260
Email: l.henery@sheffield.ac.uk

Clinical Secretary: Susan Ryalls
Tel: + 44 (0)114 2713770
Email: susan.ryalls@sth.nhs.uk

Biography

I joined the University of Sheffield in 2011 . I lead the Translational Neuropsychology Group and I am more specifically focused on implementing the dementia research agenda on early and differential diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer´s disease.

Research Interests

My main research interests are in early and differential diagnosis of dementia, in the evaluation of both pharmacological and non pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer´s disease with neuroimaging techniques, and in clarifying the premorbid biological, personality and cognitive mechanisms underlying psychotic symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases.

Teaching Interests

My teaching at postgraduate level is in the field of clinical and cognitive neuropsychology and neuroscience.
Professional Activities

I am the editor of the Geriatric board of the Journal BioMed Research International, and member of the editorial board of several neuroscience journals.

I coordinate the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory at the S. Camillo Research Hospital in Venice (Italy).
I am an Honorary Consultant for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and DeNDRoN Speciality Group Chair for the South Yorkshire CLRN

Current Projects

Current research collaborations

University of Sheffield: Professor Markus Reuber, Dr. Dan Blackburn, Professor Iain Wilkinson, Professor Alejandro Frangi Dr. Michael Shanks

University of Strathclyde, Dr. William McGeown

University of Hull, Professors Irving Kirsch and Giuliana Mazzoni, Peter J Clough, Dr. Adam Nicholls

The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Dr. Katrina E Forbes-McKay

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, Professor Paolo Nichelli

University of Parma, Italy, Dr. Paolo Caffarra, Dr. Simona Gardini

University of Milan Bicocca, Italy, Professor Costanza Papagno

University of Padua, Italy, Professor Carlo Semenza, Dr. Annachiara Cagnin
IRCSS Fondazione Ospedale San Camillo, Venice, Italy, Dr. Paolo Tonin, Dr. Francesca Meneghello

Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, Professor Adrian Ivanoiu

University of Oviedo, Spain, Professor Fernando Cuetos

York University, Toronto, Canada Professor Vinod Goel

Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, Professor Mario Liotti

Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, USA Professor Todd Feinberg

Washington University, St Louis, USA, Professor Claude Robert Cloninger

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, USA, Dr. Roger Lane

Current grants

2012-2015: NIHR RfPB, Using Conversation Analysis in the Differential Diagnosis of Memory Problems: a pilot study

2012-2015: Italian Ministry of Health, Cognitive efficiency and functional connectivity across the lifespan. Is there a signature of abnormal cognitive decline?

2012-2013: Action for ME, Uncovering the biological correlates of cognitive impairment associated with fatigue in ME/CFS: a pilot study of cognition and functional connectivity pre and post-exertional malaise
2012-2013: ARUK, Cross-cultural assessment of Dementia

2013-2017: FP7 EU funding: Virtual physiological human: dementia research enabled by IT

Key Publications

Bruen PD, McGeown WJ, Shanks MF, Venneri A. Neuroanatomical correlates of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer´s disease. Brain, 2008, 131, 2455-2463

Venneri A, McGeown WJ; Hietanen HM, Guerrini C, Ellis AW, Shanks MF. The anatomical bases of semantic retrieval deficits in early Alzheimer's Disease. Neuropsychologia, 2008, 46, 497-510

Gardini S, Cloninger CR, Venneri A: Individual differences in personality traits reflect structural variance in specific brain regions. Brain Research Bulletin, 2009, 79, 265-270

Feinberg TE, Venneri A, Simone AM, Fan Y, Northoff G: The neuroanatomy of asomatognosia and somatoparaphrenia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 2010, 81: 276-281

Venneri A, McGeown WJ, Shanks MF. Responders to ChEI treatment of Alzheimer´s disease show restitution of normal regional cortical activation. Current Alzheimer Research, 2009, 6, 97-111

Venneri A, McGeown WJ, Biundo R, Mion M, Nichelli P, Shanks MF: The neuroanatomical substrate of lexical semantic decline in MCI ApoE ε4 carriers and non carriers, Alzheimer´s Disease and Associated Disorders, 2010

Recent Publications

Venneri A, McGeown WJ; Hietanen HM, Guerrini C, Ellis AW, Shanks MF. The anatomical bases of semantic retrieval deficits in early Alzheimer's Disease. Neuropsychologia, 2008, 46, 497-510

McGeown WJ, Shanks MF, Venneri A.: Prolonged cholinergic enrichment influences regional cortical activation in early Alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 2008, 4, 465-476

Caffarra P, Ghetti C, Concari L, Venneri A. Differential patterns of hypoperfusion in subtypes of mild cognitive impairment. The Open Neuroimaging Journal, 2008, 2, 20-28

Anselmetti S, Poletti S, Ermoli E, Bechi M, Cappa S, Venneri A, Smeraldi E, Cavallaro R. The Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia. Normative data for the Italian population. Neurological Sciences, 2008, 29, 85-92

Bruen PD, McGeown WJ, Shanks MF, Venneri A. Neuroanatomical correlates of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease. Brain, 2008, 131, 2455-2463 doi:10.1093/brain/awn151

McGeown WJ, Venneri A. Alterations to the working memory network in normal ageing and Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer Disease Research Journal, 2008, 2, 135-154

Venneri A, Lane R. Effects of cholinesterase inhibition on brain white matter volume in Alzheimer’s disease. Neuroreport, 2009, 20, 285-288

Venneri A, McGeown WJ, Shanks MF. Responders to ChEI treatment of Alzheimer’s disease show restitution of normal regional cortical activation. Current Alzheimer Research, 2009, 6, 97-111

Gardini S, Cloninger CR, Venneri A: Individual differences in personality traits reflect structural variance in specific brain regions. Brain Research Bulletin, 2009, 79, 265-270

Gardini S, Caffarra P, Venneri A: Decreased drug-cue induced attentional bias in individuals with treated and untreated drug dependence Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 2009, 21, 179-185

Gardini S, Cornoldi C, De Beni R, Venneri A: Cognitive and neuronal processes involved in sequential generation of general and specific mental images. Psychological Research, 2009, 73, 633-43

McGeown WJ, Shanks MF, Forbes-McKay KE, Venneri A: Patterns of brain activity during a semantic task differentiate normal aging from early Alzheimer's disease. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 2009, 173, 218-227

McGeown, WJ, Mazzoni G, Venneri A, Kirsch I: Hypnotic induction decreases anterior default mode activity. Consciousness and Cognition, 2009, 18, 848-855

Gardini S, Nocetti L, Toraci C, Zaimovic A, Ciusa F, Antonioni M, Begarani M , Guzzinati L, Gerra G, Venneri A: Taratura e validazione di parole cocaina ed eroina-correlate in un campione di individui con storia di dipendenza da droghe. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 2009, 36, 375-398

Caffarra P, Concari L, Gardini S, Spaggiari S, Dieci F, Copelli S, Ghetti C, Venneri A: Recovery from transient global amnesia following restoration of hippocampal and fronto cingulate perfusion. Behavioural Neurology, 2009, 22, 131-139

Feinberg TE, Venneri A, Simone AM, Fan Y, Northoff G: The neuroanatomy of asomatognosia and somatoparaphrenia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 2010, 81: 276-281

Caffarra P, Gardini S, Vezzadini G, Bromiley A, Venneri A: The ideation of movement is supported by fronto-temporal cortical regions involved in the retrieval of semantic knowledge. Acta Biomedica, 2010, 81, 21-29

McGeown WJ, Shanks MF, Forbes-McKay KE, Waiter GD, Elrick I, Venneri MG, Venneri A: Established donepezil treatment modulates task relevant regional brain activation in early Alzheimer's disease. Current Alzheimer Research, 2010, 7, 415, 427

Stewart G, McGeown WJ, Shanks MF, Venneri A: Anosognosia for memory impairment in Alzheimer’s disease. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 2010, 22, 180-187

Venneri A, Shanks MF: A neurology of awareness and belief: so near so far? Neuropsychoanalysis, 2010, 12, 185-189

Bencini G, Pozzan L, Biundo R, McGeown WJ, Valian V, Venneri A, Semenza C: Language Specific Effects in Alzheimer’s disease: Subject Omission in Italian and English. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 2011, 24, 25-40

Gardini S, Concari L, Pagliara S, Ghetti C, Venneri A, Caffarra P: Visuo-spatial imagery impairment in posterior cortical atrophy: a cognitive and SPECT study. Behavioural Neurology, 2011, 24, 123-132

Venneri A, Shanks MF: Using MRI neuroimaging methods to detect treatment responses in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Neurodegenerative Disease Management, 2011, 1, 235-243

Biundo R, Gardini S, Caffarra P, Concari L, Martorana D, Neri TM, Shanks MF, Venneri A: Influence of APOE status on lexical-semantic skills in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society,2011, 17, 423-430

Venneri A, McGeown WJ, Biundo R, Mion M, Nichelli P, Shanks MF: The neuroanatomical substrate of lexical semantic decline in MCI ApoE ε4 carriers and non carriers, Alzheimer’s Disease and Associated Disorders, 2011, 25, 230-241

Venneri A, Gorgoglione G, Toraci C, Nocetti L, Panzetti P, Nichelli P: Combining neuropsychological and structural neuroimaging indicators of conversion to Alzheimer’s disease in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment. Current Alzheimer Research, 2011, 8, 789-797

Caffarra P, Gardini S, Zonato F, Concari L, Dieci F, Copelli S, Freedman M, Andrea Stracciari A, Venneri A: Italian norms for the Freedman version of the Clock Drawing Test. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 2011, 33, 982-988

Venneri A, Semenza C: On the dependency of division on multiplication: Selective loss for conceptual knowledge of multiplication. Neuropsychologia, 2011, 49, 3629-3635

Rodríguez-Ferreiro J, Cuetos F, Monsalve A, Martínez C, Pérez AJ, Venneri A: Establishing the relationship between cortical atrophy and semantic deficits in Alzheimer's disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment patients through Voxel-Based Morphometry. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 2012, 25, 139-149

McGeown WJ, Venneri A, Kirsch I, Nocetti L, Roberts K, Foan L, Mazzoni G: Suggested visual hallucination without hypnosis enhances activity in visual areas of the brain. Consciousness and Cognition, 2012, 21, 100-116

Gardini S, Venneri A: Reduced grey matter in the posterior insula as a structural vulnerability or diathesis to addiction. Brain Research Bulletin, 2012, 87, 205-211

Aimola L, Schindler I, Venneri A: Task- and response related dissociations between neglect in near and far space: A morphometric case study. Behavioural Neurology, 2012, in press, available online, DOI: 10.3233

Venneri A, Pentore R, Cobelli M, Nichelli P, Shanks MF: Translocation of the embodied self without visuospatial neglect. Neuropsychologia, 2012, 50, 973-978

Aimola L, Schindler I, Simone AM, Venneri A: Near and far space neglect: task sensitivity and anatomical substrates. Neuropsychologia, 2012, 50, 1115-1123

Pitteri M, Venneri A, Meneghello F, Priftis K: How to differentiate hemianesthesia from left tactile neglect: A preliminary case report. Behavioural Neurology, 2012, 26, 151-155

Volpato C, Piccione F, Cavinato M, Duzzi D, Shiff S, Foscolo L, Venneri A: Modulation of affective symptoms and resting state activity by brain stimulation in a treatment-resistant case of obsessive–compulsive disorder. Neurocase, 2012, in press, available online DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2012.667131

Semenza C, Cavinato M, Rigon J, Battel I, Meneghello F, Venneri A: Persistent cortical deafness. A voxel-based morphometry and tractography study. Neuropsychology, 2012, 26, 675-683

Gardini S, Cuetos F, Fasano F, Ferrari Pellegrini F, Marchi M, Venneri A, Caffarra P: Brain structural substrates of semantic memory decline in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Current Alzheimer Research, 10, 2013, 373-389

Mazzoni G, Venneri A, McGeown WJ, Kirsch I: Neuroimaging Resolution of the Altered State Hypothesis. Cortex, 2013, 49, 400-410

Turolla A, Agostini M, Venneri A, Silvoni S, Zucconi C, Tonin P, Piron L: Studio delle correlazioni tra sinergie muscolari, volume della lesione cerebrale e indici funzionali, durante l’interazione con un sistema di realtà virtuale (VRRS - EVO 4), in pazienti con ictus. Giornale Italiano di Medicina Riabilitativa, in press

Forbes-McKay KE, Shanks MF, Venneri A: Profiling spontaneous speech decline in Alzheimer’s disease: a longitudinal study. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, in press

Venneri A, Shanks MF: The central effects of ChEI treatment in Alzheimer’s disease: some insights from advanced Neuroimaging. Imaging in Medicine, in press

Venneri A, Shanks MF : The claustrum and Alzheimer’s disease. In L Eldestein, J. Smythies, V.S. Ramachandran: The Functional Neuroanatomy of the Claustrum. Elsevier, to be published in 2013