Virginia Volterra has carried out her entire career at CNR and has been also Director of the Institute of Psychology (1998-2002). In June 2008, she became Honorary Fellow of University College in London.
Currently retired, she is still collaborating with the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC), as an associated researcher. The institute enjoys international fame in many areas of language-related research and has solid experience in organizing research.
During her career she has collaborated extensively with European and US colleagues in the exploration of communication in children with typical and atypical development, providing important indications on the role of gesture in the early language development and in human language evolution.
She has also pioneered research on Italian sign language, by collaborating extensively with deaf and hearing colleagues. Recently she has been increasingly involved in various projects aiming to exploring more deeply the continuity and the close connections between actions, gestures, signs and words in children who acquire spoken or signed language.
She is the author or co-author of about 250 publications (books, chapters and articles in scientific journals) with national and international publishers.
Publications