Faculty and Staff Directory

Research Associate
Department of Community and Behavioral Health

Education

• PhD, Neuropsychology, University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine
• MS, Death Studies and End of Life, University of Padua
• BA, Psychology/Clinical Psychology, Pontifical University Catholic of São Paulo

Additional Information

Dr. Fonseca is an Associate in Research in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. She is a neuropsychologist and clinical psychologist with a background in aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in minority populations. Her work is currently focused on two projects, which she serves as the principal investigator: (1) the intra individual cognitive variability in middle aged and older adults with type 1 diabetes and its relation to plasma biomarkers of AD, funded by the Alzheimer’s Association; and (2) intraindividual cognitive variability and cross sectional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlates of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) in Native Americans, funded by the Native Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research.

Her prior training and research experiences have been focused on cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease in two primary areas of inquiry: (1) neurodegeneration and the neuropsychological profile of dementia in adults with intellectual disabilities (conducted in South America at the University of São Paulo); and (2) ADRD neuroimaging and neurocognition in adults with Down syndrome (conducted in the United Kingdom at the University of Cambridge). Additionally, she has also done research focused on the epidemiology of dementia in low-income elderly in South America; as well as in memory rehabilitation in mild cognitive impairment utilizing cognitive and functional MRI outcomes. She has ongoing collaborations with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Sao Paulo. She has 17 peer-reviewed publications, 4 book chapters (12 first author), has reviewed for 11 peer-reviewed Journals and has contributed to 9 funded grant projects.

Selected Publications

Mattar GP, Uchida RR, Haddad GG, Shiozawa P, Silva MFRS, Hoexter MQ, Busatto GF, Bottino CMC, Fonseca LM, Forlenza OV. Screening for dementia and cognitive decline in adults with Down syndrome- a novel approach using the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 36(2):162-167, 2022. doi: 10.1097/WAD.0000000000000495. PubMed PMID: 35293379.

Sheppard DP, Rau HK, Werhane ML, Fonseca LM, Chaytor NS, Peskind ER, Pagulayan KF. Associations Between Intra-Individual Neurocognitive Variability and Prospective Memory in Veterans with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury History and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Arch Clin Neuropsychol; 2022. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 35470369.

Fonseca LM, Mattar GP, Haddad GG, Burduli E, McPherson SM, Guilhoto LM, Busatto GF, Zaman S, Holland AJ, Bottino CMC, Hoexter MQ, Chaytor NS. Neuropsychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in Down syndrome and its impact on caregiver distress. J Alzheimers Dis. 81(1):137-154, 2021. doi: 10.3233/JAD-201009. PubMed PMID: 33749644.

Fonseca LM, Padilla C, Jones E, Neale N, Haddad GG, Mattar GP, Barros E, Clare ICH, Busatto GF, Bottino CMC, Hoexter MQ, Holland AJ, Zaman S. Amnestic and non-amnestic symptoms of dementia: An international study of Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down’s syndrome. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 35 (6): 650-61, 2020. doi: 10.1002/gps.5283. PubMed PMID: 32100307.

Chaytor NS, Barbosa-Leiker C, Germine LT, Fonseca LM, McPherson SM, Tuttle KR. Construct Validity, ecological validity and acceptance of self-administered online neuropsychological assessment in adults. Clin Neuropsychol, 3:1-17, 2020. doi: 10.1080/13854046.2020.1811893. PubMed PMID: 32883156.

Simon SS, Hampstead BM, Nucci MP, Ferreira LK, Duran FLS, Fonseca LM, Martin MGM, Avila R, Porto FHG, Brucki SMD, Martins CB, Tascone LS, Amaro Jr E, Busatto GF, Bottino CMC. Mnemonic strategy training modulates functional connectivity at rest in mild cognitive impairment: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Alzheimer’s & Dementia Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 1-12, 2020. doi: 10.1002/trc2.12075. PubMed PMID: 33204817.

Simon SS, Hampstead BM, Nucci MP, Duran FLS, Fonseca LM, Martins MGM, Avila R, Porto FH, Brucki SMD, Martins CB, Tascone LS, Amaro Jr E, Busatto GF, Bottino CMC. Training gains and transfer effects after mnemonic strategy training in mild cognitive impairment: a fMRI study. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 154:15-26, 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.03.014. PubMed PMID: 30936043.

Fonseca LM, Mattar GP, Haddad GG, Gonçalves AS, Miguel AQC, Guilhoto LM, Zaman S, Holland AJ, Bottino CMC, Hoexter MQ. Frontal subcortical behaviour during Alzheimer progression in individuals with Down syndrome. Neurobiology of Aging, 78, 186-94, 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.02.028. PubMed PMID: 30947114.

Fonseca LM, Haddad GG, Mattar GP, Oliveira MC, Simon SS, Guilhoto LM, Busatto GF, Zaman S, Holland AJ, Hoexter MQ, Bottino CMC. The validity and reliability of the CAMDEX-DS for assessing dementia in adults with Down syndrome in Brazil. Braz J Psychiatry, 41:225-233, 2019. doi: 10.1590/1516-4446-2018-0033. PubMed PMID: 30365671.

Neale N, Padilla C, Fonseca LM, Holland A, Zaman S. Neuroimaging and other modalities to assess Alzheimer’s disease in Down syndrome. Neuroimage: Clinical, 17:263-271, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.10.022. PubMed PMID: 29159043

Simon SS, Hampstead BM, Nucci MP, Duran FLS, Fonseca LM, Martins MGM, Avila R, Porto FH, Brucki SMD, Martins CB, Tascone LS, Amaro Jr E, Busatto GF, Bottino CMC. Cognitive and brain activities changes after mnemonic strategy training in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 10 (342), 1-17, 2018 doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00342. PubMed PMID: 30483113.

Fonseca LM, Yokomizo JE, Bottino CM, Fuentes D. Frontal Lobe Degeneration in Adults with Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease: a review. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord, 41, 123-136, 2016. doi: 10.1159/000442941. PubMed PMID: 26891227.

Fonseca LM, Navatta ACR, Bottino CMC, Miotto E. Cognitive Rehabilitation of Dementia in Adults with Down Syndrome: a review of non-pharmacological interventions. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord Extra, 5, 330-340, 2015. doi: 10.1159/000438858. PubMed PMID: 26483832.

Fonseca LM, Oliveira MC, Guilhoto LMFF, Cavalheiro EA, Bottino CM. Bereavement and behavior changes as risk factors for cognitive decline in adults with Down syndrome. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat, 10, 2209-2219, 2014. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S68831. PubMed PMID: 25484589.

Fonseca LM, Testoni I. The Emergence of Thanatology and Current Practice in Death Education. Omega, 64, 157-169, 2011. doi: 10.2190/om.64.2.d. PubMed PMID: 22375350.

Complete List of Published Work in My NCBI:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1zIydqgBU2ooyi/bibliography/public/