The Brain is a segment of the Trinity College blogging platform that will serve as a means of compiling students’ and faculty members’ writing about various aspects concerning the human brain. Our goal at The Brain is to educate and spread our knowledge of recent research findings, studies completed here at Trinity, and professors’ extensive knowledge of subjects related to the brain. Thank you for your interest!
Our contributors are listed below:
Arleigha Cook ’16, regular contributor
Arleigha is a brain injury survivor and a former soccer player and sprinter for Trinity’s womens’ soccer and track and field teams. After surviving her fourth concussion and receiving a diagnosis of Post-Concussion Syndrome, she has turned her focus to educating others about the effects of concussions. An English major with a concentration in creative writing, Arleigha started a blog on which she posts her thoughts about her own personal experiences with brain injury. She has also been a guest blogger for B Stigma-Free and Pink Concussions and has spoken with Elite Sports Medicine at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center about concussions, using her personal story as an example. Currently, she is over 1.5 years into her recovery.
Elizabeth S. Gromisch, M.A., regular contributor
Beth is a fourth-year student in the Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) Ph.D. program at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, minoring, in Clinical Neuropsychology. She earned her B.S. in Neuroscience, with minors in Classical Tradition and Japanese Language, from Trinity College. Her research has focused on developing cognitive screeners in multiple sclerosis based on the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Functioning in MS (MACFIMS), abbreviating the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) for her master’s thesis, and the Brief Visuospatial Learning Test—Revised (BVMT-R), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Sorting Test for her dissertation. Beth is continuing her work by abbreviating the Judgment of Line Orientation (JOLO) and Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), and plans to develop a stand-alone screening measure for MS. She is also investigating resiliency in MS and traumatic brain injury, the role of different physical symptoms on quality in life in MS, and group differences in MACFIMS performance.
Brett Cde Baca ’14, regular contributor
After suffering a severe concussion during a preseason college football practice in 2013, Brett was forced to prematurely end his season and withdraw for the remainder of the fall semester. With the help of doctors and a regimented treatment schedule, he began to slowly recover from a two-month period of experiencing severe concussive symptoms. Brett then returned to Trinity for the 2014 spring semester when his symptoms diminished. His experience as a brain injury survivor inspired his family to start a non-profit foundation, which promotes recovery after a traumatic brain injury. While the foundation is in the beginning stages, he and his family are excited for the opportunity to share their knowledge and help others who are suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury.
Viridiana Medina ’16, regular contributor
Ana is halfway through completing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Her interest in this field stems from genuine interest in better understanding and working with others. In addition to this, she has battled depression and anxiety disorder, both of which have increased her appreciation for the knowledge she gains through her major. Always happy to share her learning, she is also a Writing, Rhetoric, and Media minor because she enjoys writing, especially as a form to educate and inform others. She hopes that her work through writing can help others find comfort and help in dealing with their personal journeys with brain injury and psychological disorders.