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About

T. Bartolini is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robotics, behavioral neuroscience, and animal cognition, with a particular focus on zebrafish as a model organism for studying collective behavior and anxiety-related responses. Bartolini's work has made significant strides in developing innovative experimental paradigms that leverage robotic and computer-animated stimuli to probe the social and emotional responses of zebrafish in controlled laboratory settings. Among Bartolini's most influential contributions is the development of free-swimming robotic fish capable of regulating zebrafish shoal dynamics, a landmark study that has garnered over 100 citations. This work demonstrated that carefully designed visual cues — including coloration, body proportion, and movement — could meaningfully influence collective fish behavior. Complementing this, Bartolini pioneered robotics-based anxiety paradigms (83 citations) that position zebrafish as a credible translational model alongside traditional rodent studies. Further research systematically examined how variables such as tail beat frequency, aspect ratio, and color shape zebrafish responses, while studies employing 3D-printed conspecific models opened accessible new avenues for behavioral experimentation. Collectively, Bartolini's body of work, exceeding 396 citations, has meaningfully advanced our understanding of animal social behavior and laid important groundwork for neurological and psychiatric research.