Andrea Stocco is a Research Assistant Professor in the Cognition and Cognitive Dynamics Lab at I-LABS. He was born in an Italian star-shaped city named Palmanova, obtained his PhD in Psychology at the University of Trieste, and was a postdoc and research faculty at Carnegie Mellon University before joining the University of Washington. His current research concerns the representation of rules in the brain, and especially the basal ganglia, and the computational nature of cognitive flexibility
Ph. D. in Psychology, University of Trieste, Italy, April 2005.
“Laurea” (equivalent to M. S.) in Communication Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy, November 2001
September 2010 – present Research Scientist, Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington.
January 2009 — September 2010 Special Research Faculty, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
September. 2008 — December 2008 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
September 2005 — September 2008 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
Cognitive Science Society, Cognitive Neuroscience Society, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI).
Reviewer: (Journals) Artificial Intelligence, Behavioral and Brain Functions, Cognition, Cognitive Science, Cortex, Criminal Justice & Behavior, Journal of Artificial General Intelligence, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Journal of Cognitive Systems Research, (Conferences) Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (2003-present), International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (2003-present), Association of the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (2009), European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (2006).
Action Editor: Journal of Cognitive Systems Research (2007)
Program Committee: Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (2009), International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (2006-present), European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (2006).
Chairing/Organizing: International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (2006), Twelfth ACT-R Workshop, Trieste, Italy (2005).
2009 - Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA: Brain Imaging Research Center Young Investigator Pilot Study Award.
2001 - University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy: “Dignita’ di stampa” (rarely conceded only to outstanding research dissertations)
Human thought is characterized by its flexible, dynamic nature. The Cognition and Cortical Dynamics Laboratory (CCDL) consists of a group of researchers interested in better understanding how the brain changes, or adapts, to deal with the ever present fluctuations in information processing demands. Our research on these issues addresses a set of unifying questions, such as:
What are the biological bases of individual differences in cognitive capabilities? What are the neural mechanisms underpinning cognitive flexibility? The CCDL utilizes multiple methods and approaches including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), biologically constrained computational modeling, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and individual differences research to collect converging evidence about the biological nature of human thought.
