Lorenza Colzato
Encyclopedia
Lorenza S. Colzato was born 20 September 1974 in Bolzano, Italy
. She is an Italian cognitive psychologist specializing in the study of the neurotransmitter
Dopamine
and the role it plays in the executive function on human behavior.
. In 2008, Colzato was awarded the VENI grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Since March 2010 she has been Chief Editor of the open access journal Frontiers in Cognition http://frontiersin.org/cognition.
, stress
, emotions, motivation
, intelligence
, working memory
capacity, bilingualism, religion
, video game practice, sex orientation, dopamine
baseline level that are known to predict, impair or enhance individual cognitive performance.
Combining a cognitive neuroscience perspective with a focus on individual differences, she studies, by means of a wide range of computerized tasks, how cognitive control processes and their neurobiological mechanisms are affected by these factors. Central themes for her are executive control, which refers to a general control mechanism that regulates the dynamics of human cognition, as well as response inhibition, or the ability to interrupt ongoing planned actions.
She specializes in psychophysiological tools, such electro-encephalography (EEG
) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to link the behavioural measures with brain activity. In the last few years she has focused her interest on the short-term effect of emotion/motivation and long-term effect of moderate intake of recreational drugs
as cannabis
, alcohol
, MDMA (ecstasy), cocaine
and khat
on executive function.
Lorenza Colzato provided indications on the existence
of a gaydar
mechanism. By comparing male and female homosexuals and heterosexuals with a series of visual stimuli, homosexuals have shown a significant preference for detail with respect to heterosexuals, indicating that being homosexual is associated with a more analytic perceptual style. Their attentional control is faster and more efficiently tuned to pick up visual cues correlated with sexual orientation.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. She is an Italian cognitive psychologist specializing in the study of the neurotransmitter
Neurotransmitter
Neurotransmitters are endogenous chemicals that transmit signals from a neuron to a target cell across a synapse. Neurotransmitters are packaged into synaptic vesicles clustered beneath the membrane on the presynaptic side of a synapse, and are released into the synaptic cleft, where they bind to...
Dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...
and the role it plays in the executive function on human behavior.
Life
Lorenza Colzato studied in the University of Padova and obtained her Ph.D. at the Leiden University in 2005. Since 2006 she has been an assistant professor at the Cognitive Psychology Unit of Leiden UniversityLeiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
. In 2008, Colzato was awarded the VENI grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Since March 2010 she has been Chief Editor of the open access journal Frontiers in Cognition http://frontiersin.org/cognition.
Research
Her field of research concerns factors (as for example drugsDRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
, stress
Stress (biology)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
, emotions, motivation
Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
, intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
, working memory
Working memory
Working memory has been defined as the system which actively holds information in the mind to do verbal and nonverbal tasks such as reasoning and comprehension, and to make it available for further information processing...
capacity, bilingualism, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, video game practice, sex orientation, dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...
baseline level that are known to predict, impair or enhance individual cognitive performance.
Combining a cognitive neuroscience perspective with a focus on individual differences, she studies, by means of a wide range of computerized tasks, how cognitive control processes and their neurobiological mechanisms are affected by these factors. Central themes for her are executive control, which refers to a general control mechanism that regulates the dynamics of human cognition, as well as response inhibition, or the ability to interrupt ongoing planned actions.
She specializes in psychophysiological tools, such electro-encephalography (EEG
EEG
EEG commonly refers to electroencephalography, a measurement of the electrical activity of the brain.EEG may also refer to:* Emperor Entertainment Group, a Hong Kong-based entertainment company...
) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to link the behavioural measures with brain activity. In the last few years she has focused her interest on the short-term effect of emotion/motivation and long-term effect of moderate intake of recreational drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
as cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
, alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, MDMA (ecstasy), cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and khat
Khat
Khat, qat, gat or Waquish Spoken from true Yemeni, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
on executive function.
Lorenza Colzato provided indications on the existence
of a gaydar
Gaydar
Gaydar is a colloquialism referring to the intuitive ability of a person to assess others' sexual orientations as homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. Gaydar relies almost exclusively on non-verbal clues and LGBT stereotypes...
mechanism. By comparing male and female homosexuals and heterosexuals with a series of visual stimuli, homosexuals have shown a significant preference for detail with respect to heterosexuals, indicating that being homosexual is associated with a more analytic perceptual style. Their attentional control is faster and more efficiently tuned to pick up visual cues correlated with sexual orientation.
Selected works
- Colzato, L.S., van Beest, I., van den Wildenberg, W.P.M., Scorolli, C., Dorchin, S., Meiran, N., Borghi, A.M., & Hommel, B. (2010). God: Do I have your attention? Cognition. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.07.003
- Colzato, L. S., Waszack, F. Nieuwenhuis, S. T., Posthuma, D., & Hommel, B. (2010). The flexible mind is associated with the Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism: Evidence for a role of dopamine in the control of task switching. Neuropsychologia, 48, 2764-2768.
- Colzato, L. S., van Hooidonk, L., van den Wildenberg, W., Harinck, F., & Hommel, B. (2010). Sexual orientation biases attentional control: a possible gaydar mechanism. Frontiers in Cognition, 1(13), doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00013.
- Colzato, L. S., van Leeuwen, P.J.A., van den Wildenberg, W., & Hommel, B. (2010). DOOM’d to switch: Superior cognitive flexibility in players of first person shooter games. Frontiers in Cognition, 1(8), doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00008.
- Colzato, L. S., Hertsig, G., van den Wildenberg, W., & Hommel, B. (2010). Estrogen modulates inhibitory control in healthy human females: Evidence from the stop-signal paradigm. Neuroscience, 167, 709-715.
- Colzato, L. S., Huizinga, M., & Hommel, B. (2009). Recreational polydrug use of cocaine impairs cognitive flexibility but not working memory. Psychopharmacology, 207, 225-234.
- Colzato, Ruiz, Bajo, Van Den Wildenberg, & Hommel. (2010). Long-term Effects of Chronic Khat Use:Impaired Inhibitory Control. Front Psychology, 1. http://www.frontiersin.org/cognition/10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00219/abstract
External links
- Lorenza Colzato personal web page http://home.planet.nl/~homme247/colzato/home.html
- Colzato Dopamine Lab http://www.lorenza-colzato.eu/
See also
- DopamineDopamineDopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...
- University of Leiden
- cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
- religionReligionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
- estrogenEstrogenEstrogens , oestrogens , or œstrogens, are a group of compounds named for their importance in the estrous cycle of humans and other animals. They are the primary female sex hormones. Natural estrogens are steroid hormones, while some synthetic ones are non-steroidal...
- COMT
- khatKhatKhat, qat, gat or Waquish Spoken from true Yemeni, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
- GaydarGaydarGaydar is a colloquialism referring to the intuitive ability of a person to assess others' sexual orientations as homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. Gaydar relies almost exclusively on non-verbal clues and LGBT stereotypes...
- Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden Institute for Brain and CognitionThe Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition or LIBC is an interfaculty center for interdisciplinary research on brain and cognition in The Netherlands. The Leiden University Medical Center and the Faculties of Humanities, Science and Social Behavioural Sciences of Leiden University participate in...
- First-person shooterFirst-person shooterFirst-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...