Alexandra's research focuses on patient-physician communication and psychological responses to bad news, particularly in the context of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Her most recent project evaluated whether physicians adopted a patient-centered style when communicating the diagnosis of dementia. Other ongoing research includes a longitudinal assessment of patient and caregiver depression/anxiety after hearing a dementia diagnosis, and an evaluation of how well patients and caregivers comprehend a diagnosis of dementia.

Prior to studying at Washington University, Alexandra worked in a research laboratory investigating structural and functional brain changes in Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases.

Campus Box 1125
One Brookings Drive
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, MO 63130

Lab: (314) 935-6173
E-mail: zaleta@wustl.edu

Rosas HD, Salat DH, Lee SY, Zaleta AK, Hevelone N, Hersch SM. (2008). Complexity and heterogeneity: what drives the ever-changing brain in Huntington's disease? Ann NY Acad Sci, 1147: 196-205.

Salat DH, Tuch DS, van der Kouwe AJ, Greve DN, Pappu V, Lee SY, Hevelone ND, Zaleta AK, Growdon JH, Corkin S, Fischl B, Rosas HD. (2008). White matter pathology isolates the hippocampal formation in Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging, [Epub ahead of print].

Rosas HD, Salat DH, Lee SY, Zaleta AK, Pappu V, Fischl B, Greve D, Hevelone N, Hersch SM. (2008). Cerebral cortex and the clinical expression of Huntington's disease: Complexity and heterogeneity. Brain, 131(4): 1057-1068.

Rosas HD, Tuch DS, Hevelone ND, Zaleta AK, Vangel M, Hersch SM, Salat DH. (2006). Diffusion tensor imaging in presymptomatic and early Huntington's disease: Selective white matter pathology and its relationship to clinical measures. Movement Disorders, 21(9):1317-1325.

Rosas HD, Hevelone ND, Zaleta AK, Greve DN, Salat DH, Fischl B. (2005). Regional cortical thinning in preclinical Huntington's and its relationship to cognition. Neurology, 65(5): 745-747.

Salat DH, Tuch DS, Greve DN, van der Kouwe AJW, Hevelone ND, Zaleta AK, Rosen BR, Fischl B, Corkin S, Rosas HD, Dale, AM. (2005). Age-related alterations in white matter microstructure measured by diffusion tensor imaging. Neurobiology of Aging, 26(8):1215-1227.

Tuch DS, Salat DH, Wisco JJ, Zaleta AK, Hevelone ND, Rosas HD. (2005). Choice reaction time performance correlates with diffusion anisotropy in white matter pathways supporting visuospatial attention. Proc Natl Acad Sci, 102(34):12212-12217.