International Prize for Biology
2025 Prize Recipient
The Committee on the International Prize for Biology
awards the 2024 Prize in the field of "Neurobiology” to
Dr. Giacomo Rizzolatti
Emeritus Professor, Full Professor of Human Physiology – University of Parma, Italy
awards the 2024 Prize in the field of "Neurobiology” to
Dr. Giacomo Rizzolatti
Emeritus Professor, Full Professor of Human Physiology – University of Parma, Italy
On August 5, the Committee on the International Prize for Biology (chaired by Dr. FUJIYOSHI Yoshinori, Distinguished Professor, Institute of Science Tokyo) decided to award the 41st (2025) International Prize for Biology to Dr. Giacomo Rizzolatti, Emeritus Professor, Full Professor of Human Physiology – University of Parma, Italy.
This year’s Prize is awarded in the field of the Neurobiology.
This year’s Prize is awarded in the field of the Neurobiology.
Dr. Giacomo Rizzolatti
DATE OF BIRTH: April 28, 1937
NATIONALITY: Italy
PRESENT POSITION: Emeritus Professor, Full Professor of Human Physiology – University of Parma
DATE OF BIRTH: April 28, 1937
NATIONALITY: Italy
PRESENT POSITION: Emeritus Professor, Full Professor of Human Physiology – University of Parma
1961 Degree in Medicine, University of Padua
1964 Degree in Neurology, University of Padua
1965‒68 Assistant in Physiology, University of Pisa
1969 Assistant Professor, University of Parma
1970‒71 Visiting Scientist, Department of Psychology, McMaster University
1972‒ Professor of Human Physiology, University of Parma
1964 Degree in Neurology, University of Padua
1965‒68 Assistant in Physiology, University of Pisa
1969 Assistant Professor, University of Parma
1970‒71 Visiting Scientist, Department of Psychology, McMaster University
1972‒ Professor of Human Physiology, University of Parma
1982 Golgi Award for Studies in Neurophysiology
2000 Feltrinelli Prize for Medicine
2005 Herlitzka Prize for Physiology
2007 Grawemeyer Prize for Psychology
2007 Neuronal Plasticity Prize, Fondation IPSEN
2010 Signoret Neuropsychology Prize, Fondation IPSEN
2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research
2014 Brain Prize, Lundbeck Foundation
2017 International Prize “Lombardia è Ricerca”
2024 Ottorino Rossi Award
And many others.
2000 Feltrinelli Prize for Medicine
2005 Herlitzka Prize for Physiology
2007 Grawemeyer Prize for Psychology
2007 Neuronal Plasticity Prize, Fondation IPSEN
2010 Signoret Neuropsychology Prize, Fondation IPSEN
2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research
2014 Brain Prize, Lundbeck Foundation
2017 International Prize “Lombardia è Ricerca”
2024 Ottorino Rossi Award
And many others.
Dr. Rizzolatti is a neuroscientist renowned for his major accomplishments in the study of how the brain controls behavior and engages in cognition, with much of his work concerning the motor system. He originally discovered the neurons in area F5 (a sector of the premotor cortex) that encode the goal of the grasping action, as well as those encoding peripersonal space in area F4 another sector of the premotor cortex. Dr. Rizzolatti also proposed the premotor theory of attention, which explains the selective attention mechanism based on motor preparation. His foremost contribution is the discovery of the mirror neuron, the evolution of research on which is described below.
In the 1990s, Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues discovered that some neurons in area F5 of macaque monkey brains activate not just when the monkey itself grasps an object but also when it observes another monkey grasp the same object (Publication 1 below). They also observed neurons similarly responding to the actions of manipulating and placing an object. However, simply looking at that object did not cause the neurons to respond. They named these neurons “mirror neurons” and the responsible brain mechanism the “mirror mechanism.” Further, noting that mirror neurons are involved in the perception of others’ behaviors, and that the area of the brain where the mirror neurons were found is close to Broca’s area of the motor speech area, they proposed that the neurons are also involved in language generation (Publication 2).
In the case of humans too, Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues (Publication 3) published a paper in 1999 to demonstrate the role of the mirror neuron system in imitation behavior by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record brain activity when a normal human participant observed or imitated a finger movement, or performed the same movement after spatial or symbolic cues. They found that the left inferior frontal cortex (opercular region) and the rostral-most region of the right superior parietal lobule became active when the participant performed a particular finger movement, regardless of how it was evoked, and that these same brain regions also activated when the participant observed an identical movement made by another individual. The study showed that mirror neurons are present in the above areas of the human brain and are involved in imitation of the actions of others.
Since that first discovery, Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues have argued that the mirror mechanism plays a fundamental role in understanding the goal and intention behind an observed action. The same motor representation is generated in the brain from observing an action as from the actual performance of that action. This demonstrates that the motor system is not just an execution system activated by commands from other brain centers, but rather also contributes to understanding the actions of others through motor-related activation—a major discovery that has changed the perception of the brain’s motor system.
Next, a 2002 paper published by Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues (Publication 4) reported auditory mirror neurons in area F5 of the monkey brain that activate both during the execution of a particular movement and when the monkey hears a sound associated with that movement, suggesting a link between the mirror neuron system and language development.
A 2003 paper by Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues (Publication 5) published an fMRI study in which participants inhaled odorants producing a strong feeling of disgust. The same participants observed video clips showing the emotional facial expression of disgust. Observing those faces and actually feeling disgust activated the same sites in the anterior insula and to a lesser extent in the anterior cingulate cortex. It was therefore found that, as in the case of hand actions, the mirror mechanism involved in the neural representation of both experiencing and observing an emotion exists in the anterior insula cortex.
These research findings have been compiled and published in multiple highly influential review articles (see, for example, Publications 6 and 7). Dr. Rizzolatti is the author of Mirroring Brain (Oxford University Press, 2023) and numerous other publications, and is also studying children with autism in the context of mirror neurons. Today, the relationship between autism and mirror mechanism impairment has become the subject of active research, with many researchers working in this area. Dr. Rizzolatti has consequently played an unmatched and groundbreaking role in the creation and advance of social neuroscience as a field.
In the 1990s, Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues discovered that some neurons in area F5 of macaque monkey brains activate not just when the monkey itself grasps an object but also when it observes another monkey grasp the same object (Publication 1 below). They also observed neurons similarly responding to the actions of manipulating and placing an object. However, simply looking at that object did not cause the neurons to respond. They named these neurons “mirror neurons” and the responsible brain mechanism the “mirror mechanism.” Further, noting that mirror neurons are involved in the perception of others’ behaviors, and that the area of the brain where the mirror neurons were found is close to Broca’s area of the motor speech area, they proposed that the neurons are also involved in language generation (Publication 2).
In the case of humans too, Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues (Publication 3) published a paper in 1999 to demonstrate the role of the mirror neuron system in imitation behavior by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record brain activity when a normal human participant observed or imitated a finger movement, or performed the same movement after spatial or symbolic cues. They found that the left inferior frontal cortex (opercular region) and the rostral-most region of the right superior parietal lobule became active when the participant performed a particular finger movement, regardless of how it was evoked, and that these same brain regions also activated when the participant observed an identical movement made by another individual. The study showed that mirror neurons are present in the above areas of the human brain and are involved in imitation of the actions of others.
Since that first discovery, Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues have argued that the mirror mechanism plays a fundamental role in understanding the goal and intention behind an observed action. The same motor representation is generated in the brain from observing an action as from the actual performance of that action. This demonstrates that the motor system is not just an execution system activated by commands from other brain centers, but rather also contributes to understanding the actions of others through motor-related activation—a major discovery that has changed the perception of the brain’s motor system.
Next, a 2002 paper published by Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues (Publication 4) reported auditory mirror neurons in area F5 of the monkey brain that activate both during the execution of a particular movement and when the monkey hears a sound associated with that movement, suggesting a link between the mirror neuron system and language development.
A 2003 paper by Dr. Rizzolatti and his colleagues (Publication 5) published an fMRI study in which participants inhaled odorants producing a strong feeling of disgust. The same participants observed video clips showing the emotional facial expression of disgust. Observing those faces and actually feeling disgust activated the same sites in the anterior insula and to a lesser extent in the anterior cingulate cortex. It was therefore found that, as in the case of hand actions, the mirror mechanism involved in the neural representation of both experiencing and observing an emotion exists in the anterior insula cortex.
These research findings have been compiled and published in multiple highly influential review articles (see, for example, Publications 6 and 7). Dr. Rizzolatti is the author of Mirroring Brain (Oxford University Press, 2023) and numerous other publications, and is also studying children with autism in the context of mirror neurons. Today, the relationship between autism and mirror mechanism impairment has become the subject of active research, with many researchers working in this area. Dr. Rizzolatti has consequently played an unmatched and groundbreaking role in the creation and advance of social neuroscience as a field.
- Rizzolatti G, Fadiga L, Gallese V, Fogassi L (1996) Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Cognitive Brain Research 3: 131-141 (Number of citations: 8,204)
- Gallese V., Fadiga L., Fogassi L and Rizzolatti G. Action recognition in the premotor cortex, Brain 119: 593-609. (Number of citations: 8,040)
- Iacoboni M, Woods RP, Brass M, Bekkering H, Mazziotta JC, Rizzolatti G (1999) Cortical mechanism of human imitation. Science 286:2526-2528 (Number of citations: 4,193)
- Kohler E., Keysers C, Umiltà M.A, Fogassi L, Gallese V, Rizzolatti G. Hearing sound, understanding actions: action representation in mirror neurons. Science 297 (2002) 846-848 (Number of citations: 2,908)
- Wicker B., Keysers C., Plailly J. Rouet JP, Gallese V., Rizzolatti G. Both of us disgusted in My insula: the common neural basis of seeing and feeling disgust. Neuron 40 (2003) 655-664 (Number of citations: 3,667)
- Rizzolatti G., Craighero L. The Mirror Neuron System. Annual Rev. Neurosci. 27 (2004) 169-192. (Number of citations: 13,013)
- Rizzolatti G, Fogassi L., Gallese V. Neurophysiological mechanism underlying the understanding and imitation of actions. Nature Reviews Neurosci. 2 (2001) 661-670 (Number of citations: 5,007)