Leite, Jorge

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Leite

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Jorge

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Jorge Leite

Biography

Jorge Leite obtained his PhD in 2011 from the University of Minho, where he also completed his Psychology Degree in 2005. From 2013 to 2016, he underwent postdoctoral training at the Neuromodulation Center, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Currently, he holds the positions of Vice-Rector for Research, Associate Professor, and Coordinator of the CINTESIS.UPT. Throughout his career, he has made significant contributions to the field, with over 70 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. According to Scopus data, over half of his publications are featured in the top 25% of journals, while 45% are among the top 25% most cited documents globally. He has also supervised numerous MSc dissertations and is currently overseeing four PhD theses. Furthermore, he actively participates in various research projects, taking on roles such as Principal Investigator, Researcher, and Supervisor. These projects have successfully secured over 6M euros in funding. His dedication to his work has been recognized with seven awards and/or honors. Furthermore, he has collaborated with 167 fellow researchers in various scientific endeavors.

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CINTESIS.UPT - Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde
Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde (CINTESIS.UPT), former I2P, is an R&D unit devoted to the study of cognition and behaviour in context. With an interdisciplinary focus, namely on Education, Translational and Applied Psychology

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 26
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Avaliação da docência no Ensino Superior: Contributos para um modelo compreensivo de avaliação do desempenho
    2018 - Oliveira, Íris Martins; Mesquita, Diana; Abelha, Marta; Carvalho, Olívia da Conceição; Jesus, Paulo Renato; Fernandes, Sara M.; Leite, Jorge; Fernandes, Sandra
    Esta comunicação tem como objetivo apresentar a proposta de um projeto de investigação sobre avaliação do desempenho docente no Ensino Superior. Esta proposta surgiu da atividade de colaboração desenvolvida por um grupo de docentes da Universidade Portucalense (UPT) no contexto de uma ação de formação subordinada à temática Scholarhip of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), promovida pelo Centre for Excellence in Teaching da UPT. Este centro foi criado pela Reitoria da UPT em Maio de 2017, para potenciar o desenvolvimento de estratégias favorecedoras da reflexão e melhoria das práticas pedagógicas dos/as docentes. Neste âmbito, um dos seus objetivos consiste em promover competências que se consideram fundamentais para a inovação pedagógica e curricular por parte dos/as docentes, tais como trabalho colaborativo, capacidade de ultrapassar desafios, reflexão sobre a prática e investigação. A formação sobre SoTL, organizada em quatro sessões (3h cada), tem periodicidade mensal entre abril e julho 2018. Esta formação pretende: apresentar, discutir e analisar os princípios do SoTL; desenvolver tempos e espaços de reflexão crítica sobre a prática de ensino e das aprendizagens; bem como desenvolver e apresentar uma proposta de investigação sobre a prática pedagógica. Como o SoTL assenta numa abordagem que favorece a reflexão sobre e para a prática pedagógica, numa lógica de contínua indagação profissional (Shulman, 2000; 2011; Vieira, 2009), as sessões de formação dedicadas à temática procuram refletir esse mesmo princípio e apropriar esta metodologia para o desenvolvimento profissional dos docentes (Fanghanel, 2013). A proposta de projeto apresentada surge como resultado da aplicação da abordagem SoTL em contexto de formação e da inerente indagação da prática docente, por parte dos elementos do grupo. Em particular, a presente comunicação deriva da reflexão sobre a valorização da docência enquanto uma das funções do/a docente universitário/a. Esta tem sido uma preocupação crescente por parte das Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), que se deparam atualmente com desafios no que se refere às questões da avaliação da qualidade dos/as docentes e do ensino superior, decorrentes do Processo de Bolonha, do financiamento das IES e da garantia e certificação da Qualidade. (...)
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Polarity specific effects of cross-hemispheric tDCS coupled with approach-avoidance training on chocolate craving
    2019-01-24 - Carvalho, Sandra; Sampaio, Adriana; Mendes, Augusto José; Lema, Alberto; Vieira, Daniela; Leite, Jorge
  • PublicationRestricted Access
    Deployment of a mobile wireless eeg system to record brain activity associated with physical navigation in the blind: A proof of concept
    2019-01 - Bennett, Christopher R.; Vall, Laura Dubreuil; Ruffini, Giulio; Merabet, Lotfi B.; Leite, Jorge
    Little is known about how the brain processes information while navigating without visual cues. Technical limitations recording brain activity during real-world navigation have impeded research in this field. We have developed a study paradigm that benefits from wireless EEG recording technology. Participants heard a sequence of directional commands instructing them to physically or mentally navigate a 3 × 3 m grid. Data from a sighted control and an individual with profound blindness highlight the viability of the technology. A power spectral density analysis on the alpha frequency band during the physical navigation task revealed diffuse signal fluctuations for the blind participant, while a more robust signal within occipital-parietal regions was seen for the sighted control. Both participants displayed highly similar signal fluctuations during mental navigation. This work demonstrates the feasibility of brain activity recording during navigation-related tasks using a wireless EEG system for identifying brain processing patterns associated with visual experience.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Efficacy and safety of TMS and tDCS in memory deficits Alzheimer's disease
    2024-06-01 - Mendes, Augusto J.; Rocha, Magda; Rodrigues, Pedro F. S.; Fernandes, Sara M.; Conde, Ana; Leite, Jorge
    Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are promising non-pharmacological therapeutic options for Alzheimer’s´ Disease (AD). The aim of this meta-analysis is to assess which intervention (i.e., TMS or tDCS) is more effective for memory losses in people with AD. As secondary outcome, safety will be addressed. [...]
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Executive impairments in obsessive compulsive disorder: A systematic review with emotional and non-emotional paradigms
    2020-02 - Tubío Fungueiriño, Maria; Fernandez Prieto, Montse; Carvalho, Sandra; Carracedo, Angel; Gonçalves, Óscar F.; Leite, Jorge
    Precedent: Impairments in executive functioning may be associated with compulsive symptoms in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control and working memory in OCD patients. using emotional and non-emotional paradigms. Method: we reviewed research published in PubMed, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Scopus, Scielo, and ProQuest Psychology databases, from January 2008 to April 2019. The review followed a two-stage process. In the first stage, we selected only studies using neutral stimuli paradigms, while in the second we selected executive-emotional paradigms. Results: The first stage of the review provided 16 final results, while the second stage, with emotional stimuli, provided 3 results. Conclusions: There is some initial evidence for the existence of executive impairments in OCD, as expressed in the performance and/or processing of working memory inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. There is also initial evidence that these latter two could be modulated by the presentation or mental representation of negative valence stimuli or images, as well as the presence of aversive contingencies.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Tailoring transcranial alternating current stimulation based on endogenous event-related P3 to modulate premature responses: A feasibility study
    2024-04-03 - Mendes, Augusto; Lema, Alberto; Carvalho, Sandra; Leite, Jorge
    Background Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a brain stimulation method for modulating ongoing endogenous oscillatory activity at specified frequency during sensory and cognitive processes. Given the overlap between event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related oscillations (EROs), ERPs can be studied as putative biomarkers of the effects of tACS in the brain during cognitive/sensory task performance. Objective This preliminary study aimed to test the feasibility of individually tailored tACS based on individual P3 (latency and frequency) elicited during a cued premature response task. Thus, tACS frequency was individually tailored to match target-P3 ERO for each participant. Likewise, the target onset in the task was adjusted to match the tACS phase and target-P3 latency. Methods Twelve healthy volunteers underwent tACS in two separate sessions while performing a premature response task. Target-P3 latency and ERO were calculated in a baseline block during the first session to allow a posterior synchronization between the tACS and the endogenous oscillatory activity. The cue and target-P3 amplitudes, delta/theta ERO, and power spectral density (PSD) were evaluated pre and post-tACS blocks. Results Target-P3 amplitude significantly increased after activetACS, when compared to sham. Evoked-delta during cue-P3 was decreased after tACS. No effects were found for delta ERO during target-P3 nor for the PSD and behavioral outcomes. Conclusion The present findings highlight the possible effect of phase synchronization between individualized tACS parameters and endogenous oscillatory activity, which may result in an enhancement of the underlying process (i.e., an increase of target-P3). However, an unsuccessful synchronization between tACS and EEG activity might also result in a decrease in the evoked-delta activity during cue-P3. Further studies are needed to optimize the parameters of endogenous activity and tACS synchronization. The implications of the current results for future studies, including clinical studies, are further discussed since transcranial alternating current stimulation can be individually tailored based on endogenous event-related P3 to modulate responses.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Efficacy and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation in memory deficits in patients with Alzheimer's disease: Meta-analysis and systematic review
    2024-03-01 - Mendes, Augusto J.; Leite, Jorge; Fernandes, Sara M.; Rodrigues, Pedro F. S.; Conde, Ana; Rocha, Magda
    Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are two of the most used non-pharmacological interventions for Alzheimer's Disease (AD). However, most of the clinical trials have focused on evaluating the effects on global cognition and not on specific cognitive functions. Therefore, considering that memory loss is one of the hallmark symptoms of AD, we aim to assess the efficacy and safety of tDCS and rTMS in memory deficits. For that, multilevel random effect models were performed considering the standardized mean difference (SMD) between active and sham stimulation. A total of 19 studies with 411 participants demonstrated positive effects in memory after tDCS (SMD=0.20, p = 0.04) and rTMS (SMD=0.44, p = 0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed that tDCS had greater efficacy when administered in temporal regions (SMD=0.32, p = 0.04), whereas rTMS was superior when applied in frontal regions (SMD=0.61, p < 0.001). Therefore, depending on the brain region of stimulation, both interventions produced a positive effect on memory symptoms in AD patients. Finally, the safety of both techniques was observed in the AD population after the reporting of almost no serious events.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Longitudinal Clinical Trial Recruitment and Retention Challenges in the Burn Population: Lessons Learned from a Trial Examining a Novel Intervention for Chronic Neuropathic Symptoms
    2019 - Ohrtman, Emily A.; Zaninotto, Ana Luiza; Carvalho, Sandra; Shie, Vivian L.; Ianni, Corinne Rose; Kazis, Lewis E.; Ross Zafonte, Ross Zafonte; Ryan, Colleen M.; Schneider, Jeffrey C.; Fregni, Felipe; Leite, Jorge
    Long-term trials are key to understanding chronic symptoms such as pain and itch. However, challenges such as high attrition rates and poor recruitment are common when conducting research. The aim of this work was to explore these issues within a long-term randomized control trial using transcranial direct current stimulation to treat pain and itch. This parallel double blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial was comprised of 15 transcranial direct current stimulation visits and 7 follow-up visits. Participants were over the age of 18, had a burn injury that occurred at least 3 weeks before enrollment, and reported having pain and/or itch that was moderate to severe in intensity. A total of 31 subjects were randomized into either an active or sham transcranial direct current stimulation groups. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of age, race, education, baseline depression, or anxiety. The median dropout time was at visit 19 (visit 16 [SE = 1.98] for the sham group and visit 19 [SE = 1.98] for the active group). Analysis showed no differences in the dropout rate between groups [χ2(1) = 0.003, P = .954]. The dropout rate was 46.7% for the sham group and 43.8% for the active group. Overall, 45.2% of the subjects dropped out of the trial. Long-term clinical trials are an essential part of evaluating interventions for symptoms such as chronic pain and itch. However, as seen in this trial, long-term studies in the burn population often face recruitment and adherence challenges.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Transcranial direct current stimulation decreases P3 amplitude and inherent Delta activity during a waiting impulsivity paradigm: Crossover study
    2024-02-07 - Mendes, Augusto J.; Galdo-Álvarez, Santiago; Lema, Alberto; Carvalho, Sandra; Leite, Jorge
    The inability to wait for a target before initiating an action (i.e., waiting impulsivity) is one of the main features of addictive behaviors. Current interventions for addiction, such as transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), have been suggested to improve this inability. Nonetheless, the effects of tDCS on waiting impulsivity and underlying electrophysiological (EEG) markers are still not clear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of neuromodulation over the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) on the behavior and EEG markers of reward anticipation (i.e., cue and target-P3 and underlying delta/theta power) during a premature responding task. For that, forty healthy subjects participated in two experimental sessions, where they received active and sham tDCS over the rIFG combined with EEG recording during the task. To evaluate transfer effects, participants also performed two control tasks to assess delay discounting and motor inhibition. The active tDCS decreased the cue-P3 and target-P3 amplitudes, as well as delta power during target-P3. While no tDCS effects were found for motor inhibition, active tDCS increased the discounting of future rewards when compared to sham. These findings suggest a tDCS-induced modulation of the P3 component and underlying oscillatory activity during waiting impulsivity and the discounting of future rewards.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Maternal mental health in refugees and migrants: a comprehensive systematic review
    2023-08-17 - Almeida, Lígia Moreira; Moutinho, Ana Raquel; Siciliano, Florência; Caldas, José Peixoto; Leite, Jorge
    The first years of motherhood are often difficult for women, requiring large emotional and biophysical adjustments and increased health risks that may combine with social disadvantage and psychosocial conditions towards decreased maternal wellbeing. Those outcomes are usually worse in vulnerable populations, as refugee and migrants. Comprehending mothers’ needs regarding mental health and psychological well-being must be prioritized. A systematic review using MEDLINE, EBSCO, and SCOPUS databases was carried out, searching for population-based studies published between 2012 and 2022 reporting on maternal mental health in displaced populations. A total of 2881 articles were retrieved; 35 publications met the inclusion criteria, being included in the final evaluation. Displaced women tend to be at higher risks of maternal mental distress, due to life stressors, isolation, intrapersonal and background characteristics, mental health stigma, discrimination, and barriers in accessing adequate healthcare. Refugee and asylum-seekers are at the most vulnerable positions. Postpartum depression is the most assessed condition regarding mental health but is manifestly insufficient for public health systems in assuring an adequate state of maternal well-being. Maternal mental healthcare must be patient-centered, more accessible, and available to both native and displaced mothers. PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42022335343.