Viviana Cammaroto

CURRICULUM

I was born in Messina on December 31, 1988. I graduated in Psychology in 2013 at the University of Padua.
I completed my postgraduate training at the Neuropsychology Section, Department of Neurology, IRCCS Ca ‘Granda General Hospital of Milan and at the Department of Neurology V, Carlo Besta National Neurological Institute.
Since February 2016 I am a member of the Lombardy Psychology Register.
Currently, I am in my senior year of the PhD Program in Neuroscience at the University of Milano Bicocca. My work is mainly carried out at the Department of Neurology of S. Gerardo Hospital, Monza, and I deal with cognitive impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis.

RESEARCH PROJECT

Neuropsycological and functional correlates of cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal study

  • Tutor: Guido Cavaletti
  • Track: Clinical Neuroscience

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the prototype of demyelinating diseases, in which both gray (GM) and white matter (WM) pathology contribute to impairment of several cognitive domains including attention, mental processing speed, memory, and executive and visuospatial functions. Such deficits have been reported in all stages and subtypes of the disease, and result in significant, negative consequences for quality of life. MS-related white matter pathology disrupts various neural networks, including the frontal-subcortical tracts known to be involved in high cognitive and social functioning. Theory of mind (ToM), that is the ability to infer others’ mental states, is a core skill of social cognition. ToM impairment and its neuropsychological correlates in RRMS is still controversial, especially in patients with minimal disability and short time of illness. The main goal is to investigate the effect of MS on cognitive and social domains in high-functioning outpatients with mild Relapsing-Remitting MS compared to healthy controls. More precisely, we aim to analyze changes of main cognitive functions over time and correlate these findings to MRI focal tissue and regional volume changes, in order to identify any GM and WM abnormalities and the brain structures for which reduced integrity most predicts cognitive and social functioning.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND CONGRESSES

Congresses:

  • The Aging Brain: Cellular Mechanism Interfacing Human Pathology, Turin, September 28th – October 2nd, 2015.