Dr. Corbetta is the Norman J. Stupp Professor of Neurology and the Head of the Stroke and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Section

Dr. Corbetta's research has been recognized by a Physician Scientist Award from the National Eye Institute in 1997; the J.S. McDonnell Foundation Award in Cognitive Sciences in 2000; the 'Marie Curie' Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience from the European Union in 2005; the 'Norman Geschwind' Award in Behavioral Neurology from the Academy of Neurology; and, a Distinguished Senior Investigator Award from Washington University in 2008. Clinical and teaching activities have been recognized in 1994 by The Irwin Levy Award for Pregraduate teaching in Neurology and Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, and in 1995 by an honorary affiliation to the Alpha Omega Alpha Association for outstanding staff physician at Barnes Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.

Dr. Corbetta is a member of the Academy of Neurology, Society of Neuroscience, Society of Cognitive Neuroscience, and Human Brain Mapping Society. He was elected to the International Neuropsychological Symposium in 2003; the American Neurological Association in 2003; and, the Attention and Performance Association Advisory Council in 2003. He has served as Program Chair of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in 2006. He serves as Scientific Advisor of the German and Italian Ministry of Education and Research.

Dr. Corbetta's research focuses on elucidating the brain mechanisms of cognitive function and their recovery after brain injury (stroke or traumatic brain injury). He uses a combination of behavioral methods and functional/anatomical neuroimaging (brain scans) to study brain structure/function. An example of his physiological research is the discovery that different brain networks control goal-driven vs. stimulus-driven attention, and that attention deficits after stroke depend on a functional imbalance of activity in attention networks between the left and right hemisphere. Dr. Corbetta has active research collaborations with Weill-Cornell; UCSF; UCSD and the Salk Institute; University of Chieti, Italy; University College, London, UK; University Claude-Bernard, Lyon, France; University of Leuven, Belgium; University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Pompeu-Fabra University, Barcelona; UKE, Hamburg, Germany; Academy of Sciences Institute, Prague.

Medical Training

Dr. Corbetta received his MD at the University of Pavia School of Medicine, Italy in 1985. He completed residency training in Neurology at the University of Verona, Italy (1986-1990) and Washington University School of Medicine (1992-1996). He is board certified in Neurology in both Italy and US. He has also received research training in Neurophysiology (single unit recording) and Neuropsychology at the University of Verona (1985-1986), and Neuroimaging and Cognitive Neuroscience at Washington University (1988-1992). He joined the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine as Assistant Professor in Neurology in 1996. In 2002, he was appointed Head of the Stroke and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Section.

Selected Publications

He B.J, Snyder A.Z., Vincent J.L., Epstein A., Shulman G.L., Corbetta M. breakdown of functional connectivity in frontoparietal networks underlies behavioral deficits in spatial neglect. Neuron (2007) Mar 15;53(6):905-18.

Vincent J.L., Patel G.H., Fox M.D., Snyder A.Z., Baker J.T., Snyder L.H., Corbetta M., Raichle M.E. The intrinsic functional architecture of the primate oculomotor network. Nature (2007) May 3;447(7140):83-6.

He BJ, Shulman GL, Snyder AZ, Corbetta M. The role of impaired neuronal communication in neurological disorders. Current Opinion in Neurology, (2007) 20(6):655-60.

Corbetta M., Patel G.H., Shulman G.L. The reorienting system of the human brain: from environment to theory of mind. Neuron (2008) 58, 306-324.

Tosoni A., Galati G., Romani G.L., Corbetta M. Sensory-motor mechanisms in human parietal cortex underlie arbitrary visual decisions. Nature Neuroscience (2008) 12:1446-1453