People | Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione

Email:

laura.barca@istc.cnr.it

Telephone:

+ 39 06 44595312

Fax:

+ 39 06 44595243

Address:

Via San Martino della Battaglia 44 - 00185 Rome - Italy

Resume:

cvlb_nov2018eng_topics2.doc

Personal website:

https://sites.google.com/site/laurabarcahomepage/

Group membership:

- Private group -

Additional details

Profile

Position:

Researcher

I am a researcher at the ISTC-CNR of Rome. I got a degree in Psychology and a PhD in Clinical and Developmental Psychology at the University of Rome 'La Sapienza', and a specialization in Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapy.

My scientific interests are placed within the fields of Cognitive and Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Computational Psychiatry. Specifically:

predictive brain, emotion and interoceptive inference,
sensorimotor influences on (abstract and emotional) concepts acquisition and representation,
the neuronal basis of visual word recognition,
behavioral measures of written language processing in normal and impaired populations,
cognitive profiles and rehabilitation of children with developmental and acquired deficits.

My website: https://sites.google.com/site/laurabarcahomepage/

Tags:

Cognitive Processes, Cognitive Neuroscience, Visual Word Recognition,

Research

My areas of research are:

I recently get interested inPredictive Coding models of the brain in the framework of emotional processing and psychopathological conditions. I am interested in developing models that include multiple, hierarchically arranged brain-body variables (e.g., sensory, physiological, interoceptive), and study quantitatively how these variables interact over time; how they are dynamically weighted; if a specific variable or dynamical state of the system might work as a 'marker' of psychopathological conditions (e.g., anxiety disorders) that could be possibly used for screening and prevention; and if ways of restoring the correct system dynamics can be found to be used as treatments.

the neuronal basis of visual word recognition. Within the Marie Curie network RTN:LAB I used Magnetoenchephalography (MEG) to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution of cortical activity during the processing of words presented left or right from a central fixation, developing new methods for the acquisition and analysis of neuromagnetic signals (e.g., beamforming and virtual electrodes). Results highlight the role, within the left hemisphere, oftop-down influences from motor-articulatory regions to visual-recognition areas. I'm actually exploring the impact of auditory deprivation on word recognition, using Diffusion Tensor Imaging and coregistration of functional MRI signal and Electroencephalography (WoRHD project, funded within the Marie CurieReintegration Grant schema).
the interplay between perception-cognition-action. In a series of experiments within Goal-Leaders project, we are measuring healthy adults' hand movements toward one of two items alternatives, and recording the streaming x, y coordinates of the computer mouse (i.e., a kinematic measure) during categorization tasks. Results show that decision-making and action execution are not separate cognitive stages. Rather, we observe dynamic competition between different processing levels, where partially activated representations (for the decision alternatives) continuously interact into a single categorization outcome. The use of an action-dynamics approach allowed to visualize the link between cognitive processes and hand movements, with mouse trajectories mirroring online mental processing.
behavioral measures of written language processing in normal and impaired populations. I consider visual word recognition a primer phenomenon to study high level cognitive processes and how they interact with sensorymotor processes. To this end, within the W-READ lab we use behavioral experimental paradigms (i.e., Visual Single Word Recognition and Visual Lexical Decision) to study language processes in participants with different expertise (adult and children) and different proficiency (typical readers, acquired/developmental dyslexia).
cognitive profiles and rehabilitation of children with developmental and acquired deficits. Within the field of Developmental Neuropsychology I'm studying how does deficits in sensory-motor domains occurring at different developmental stages affect cognitive processes.

Projects

GOAL-Leaders: Goal-directed, Adaptive Builder Robots

Project Funding:

FP - European Framework Programmes

Project Timeframe:

28 Feb 2011 to 27 Feb 2014

ISTC Contact Person:

Giovanni Pezzulo

Group & ISTC Labs:

Goal-Oriented Agents Lab

Publications

Articolo

2006

Orthographic complexity and word naming in Italian: Some words are more transparent than others.

Burani, C., Barca, L., Ellis, A.W.

Source: Psychonomic bulletin & review 13 (2006): 346–352., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Burani, C., Barca, L., & Ellis, A.W./titolo:Orthographic complexity and word naming in Italian: Some words are more transparent than others./doi:/rivista:Psychonomic bulletin & review/anno:2006/pagina_da:346/pagina_a:352/interva

Word morphology and lexical comprehension in Williams Syndrome.

Burani, C., Bimonte, D., Barca, L., Vicari, S.

Source: Brain and language (Print) 99 (2006): 112–113., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Burani,C., Bimonte, D., Barca, L., & Vicari, S./titolo:Word morphology and lexical comprehension in Williams Syndrome./doi:/rivista:Brain and language (Print)/anno:2006/pagina_da:112/pagina_a:113/intervallo_pagine:112–113/volume

2005

Frequenza, immaginabilità ad età di acquisizione delle parole: in che misura queste variabili influenzano la lettura dei bambini italiani?

Mazzotta, S., Barca, L., Marcolini, Stella, Burani, C

Source: 9 (2005): 249–268., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Mazzotta, S., Barca, L., Marcolini, S., Stella, Burani, C/titolo:Frequenza, immaginabilità ad età di acquisizione delle parole: in che misura queste variabili influenzano la lettura dei bambini italiani?/doi:/rivista:/anno:2005/

2004

A database for semantic, grammatical, and frequency properties of the first words acquired by Italian children

Rinaldi, Pasquale, Barca, Laura, Burani, Cristina

Source: Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers 36 (2004): 525–530. doi:10.3758/BF03195599, info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Rinaldi, Pasquale; Barca, Laura; Burani, Cristina/titolo:A database for semantic, grammatical, and frequency properties of the first words acquired by Italian children/doi:10.3758/BF03195599/rivista:Behavior research methods, in

Accesso lessicale e lettura ad alta voce: il ruolo delle componenti morfologiche delle parole.

Traficante, D., Barca, L., Burani, C.

Source: 31 (2004): 821–838., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Traficante, D., Barca, L., & Burani, C./titolo:Accesso lessicale e lettura ad alta voce: il ruolo delle componenti morfologiche delle parole./doi:/rivista:/anno:2004/pagina_da:821/pagina_a:838/intervallo_pagine:821–838/volume:31

Caratteristiche semantiche, grammaticali e di frequenza delle parole del Primo Vocabolario del Bambino .

Rinaldi, P., Barca, L. e Burani, C.

Source: 8 (2004): 119–143., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Rinaldi, P., Barca, L. e Burani, C./titolo:Caratteristiche semantiche, grammaticali e di frequenza delle parole del Primo Vocabolario del Bambino ./doi:/rivista:/anno:2004/pagina_da:119/pagina_a:143/intervallo_pagine:119–143/v

First words acquired by Italian children: Semantic, grammatical and frequency properties

Rinaldi, Pasquale, Barca, Laura, Burani, Cristina

Source: Psicologia clinica dello sviluppo 8 (2004): 119–143. doi:10.1449/13176, info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Rinaldi, Pasquale; Barca, Laura; Burani, Cristina/titolo:First words acquired by Italian children: Semantic, grammatical and frequency properties/doi:10.1449/13176/rivista:Psicologia clinica dello sviluppo/anno:2004/pagina_da:11

2002

Età di acquisizione delle parole e disturbi acquisiti del linguaggio: una rassegna.

Barca L., Burani C.

Source: 25 (2002): 73–94., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Barca L., Burani C./titolo:Età di acquisizione delle parole e disturbi acquisiti del linguaggio: una rassegna./doi:/rivista:/anno:2002/pagina_da:73/pagina_a:94/intervallo_pagine:73–94/volume:25

Lessico e ortografia nella lettura ad alta voce di adulti e bambini di lingue diverse.

Barca L.

Source: 73 (2002): 118–128., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Barca L./titolo:Lessico e ortografia nella lettura ad alta voce di adulti e bambini di lingue diverse./doi:/rivista:/anno:2002/pagina_da:118/pagina_a:128/intervallo_pagine:118–128/volume:73

Word naming times and psycholinguistic norms for Italian nouns

Barca, Laura, Burani, Cristina, Arduino, Lisa S.

Source: Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers 34 (2002): 424–433., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Barca, Laura; Burani, Cristina; Arduino, Lisa S./titolo:Word naming times and psycholinguistic norms for Italian nouns/doi:/rivista:Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers/anno:2002/pagina_da:424/pagina_a:433/interva

2001

Una base di dati sui valori di età di acquisizione, frequenza, familiarità, immaginabilità, concretezza, e altre variabili lessicali e sublessicali per 626 nomi dellitaliano

Burani, C., Barca, L., Arduino, L.S.

Source: Giornale italiano di psicologia 28 (2001): 839–854., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Burani, C., Barca, L., Arduino, L.S./titolo:Una base di dati sui valori di età di acquisizione, frequenza, familiarità, immaginabilità, concretezza, e altre variabili lessicali e sublessicali per 626 nomi dellitaliano/doi:/rivi

Word reading and picture naming in Italian

Bates, E., Burani, C., D'Amico, S., &Barca, L

Source: Memory & cognition 29 (2001): 986–999., info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Bates, E., Burani, C., D'Amico, S., &Barca, L/titolo:Word reading and picture naming in Italian/doi:/rivista:Memory & cognition/anno:2001/pagina_da:986/pagina_a:999/intervallo_pagine:986–999/volume:29

Laura Barca