Sara is interested in how people learn from and with others. Her work aims at understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms of human learning as it occurs in the real-world. She is particularly interested in naturalistic social interaction and whether/how this support acquisition of new knowledge (as compared to solo-learning). She has conducted work on learner-teacher interaction in a variety of contexts and population, including online and face-to-face, with neurotypical adults and adults with Autistic Spectrum Condition. She is currently extending her work on adolescence, a sensitive period for development of brain networks involved in social cognition, as well as the age when school and peer relationships constitute a central part in people's life. Sara combined fNIRS hyperscanning neuroimaging with physiology and behvaioural measures, as she sees the importance of adopting a multi-modal experimental approach to study (interacting) brains within (interacting) bodies.
