Publications by authors named "Cristina A F Roman"

Because cognitive fatigue (CF) is common and debilitating following brain injury or disease we investigated the relationships among CF, behavioral performance, and cerebral activation within and across populations by combining the data from two cross-sectional studies. Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) were included to model CF resulting from neurological disease; individuals who had sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) were included to model CF resulting from neurological insult; both groups were compared with a control group (Controls). CF was induced while neuroimaging data was acquired using two different tasks.

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Article Synopsis
  • Depression is significantly more common in patients with neurological and inflammatory disorders, particularly multiple sclerosis, where about 25% experience major depressive disorder, impacting their quality of life and disease progression.
  • A randomized controlled trial was conducted to assess an internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy program specifically designed for patients with multiple sclerosis, comparing it to standard treatment.
  • The primary goal was to measure changes in depressive symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory-II after 12 weeks, with the trial lasting from May 2017 to November 2020 and being registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.
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Objective: Becoming culturally competent healthcare providers depends on the ability of practitioners to acquire knowledge, awareness, and skills related to other cultures. In building these areas of competence, it is essential to consider geopolitical factors that may influence health and health-seeking behaviors, particularly when working with immigrant populations. When care is sought, they are likely to experience significant barriers to effective care, including lack of providers who speak their language and failure of practitioners to integrate cultural beliefs into treatment plans.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore racial/ethnic differences in neurobehavioral symptom reporting and symptom validity testing among military veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Method: Participants of this observational cross-sectional study (N = 9,646) were post-deployed Iraq-/Afghanistan-era veterans enrolled in the VA's Million Veteran Program with a clinician-confirmed history of TBI on the Comprehensive TBI Evaluation (CTBIE). Racial/ethnic groups included White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Multiracial, Another Race, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.

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Fatigue, including cognitive fatigue, is one of the most debilitating symptoms reported by persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Cognitive fatigue has been associated with disruptions in striato-thalamo-cortical and frontal networks, but what remains unknown is how the at which pwMS become fatigued over time relates to microstructural properties within the brain. The current study aims to fill this gap in knowledge by investigating how cognitive fatigue rate relates to white matter and basal ganglia microstructure in a sample of 62 persons with relapsing-remitting MS.

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Background And Objectives: Thalamic atrophy (TA) represents a biomarker of neurodegeneration and associated dysfunction/decline in physical and cognitive functioning among persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Aerobic fitness, as an end point of exercise training, represents a promising target for restoring function in MS, but it is unknown if such effects differ by TA. This cross-sectional study examined whether aerobic fitness was differentially associated with cognitive processing speed and walking endurance in persons with MS who present with and without TA.

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Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects 2.8 million persons worldwide. One of the most persistent, pervasive, and debilitating symptoms of MS is cognitive fatigue.

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Objectives: The oral Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) has become the standard for the brief screening of cognitive impairment in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). It has been shown to be sensitive to sensory-motor factors involving rudimentary oral motor speed and visual acuity, as well as multiple sclerosis (MS) affective-fatigue factors including depression, fatigue, and anxiety. The present study was designed to provide a greater understanding of these noncognitive factors that might contribute to the oral SDMT by examining all these variables in the same sample.

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Objective: The use of normative data is a hallmark of the neuropsychological assessment process. Within the context of sports-related concussion, utilizing normative data is especially essential when individualized baseline data are unavailable for comparison. The primary purpose of this study was to establish normative data for a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery used in the assessment of sports-related concussion.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease characterized by lesion-induced white matter deterioration. Brain atrophy and damage to normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and normal appearing gray matter (NAGM) have also been identified as consequences of MS. Neuroimaging has played an integral role in investigating the effects of white and gray matter damage across the three primary clinical phenotypes of the disease-primary progressive (PPMS), relapsing remitting (RRMS), and secondary progressive (SPMS) MS.

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