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 - 2 of 2
  • 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
    Working memory training coupled with transcranial direct current stimulation in older adults: A randomized controlled experiment
    2022-04-12 - Teixeira-Santos, Ana C.; Moreira, Célia S.; Pereira, Diana R.; Pinal, Diego; Fregni, Felipe; Carvalho, Sandra; Sampaio, Adriana; Leite, Jorge
    Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been employed to boost working memory training (WMT) effects. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence on the efficacy of this combination in older adults. The present study is aimed to assess the delayed transfer effects of tDCS coupled with WMT in older adults in a 15-day follow-up. We explored if general cognitive ability, age, and educational level predicted the effects. Methods: In this single-center, double-blind randomized sham-controlled experiment, 54 older adults were randomized into three groups: anodal-tDCS (atDCS)+WMT, sham-tDCS (stDCS)+WMT, and double-sham. Five sessions of tDCS (2 mA) were applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Far transfer was measured by Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM), while the near transfer effects were assessed through Digit Span. A frequentist linear mixed model (LMM) was complemented by a Bayesian approach in data analysis. Results: Working memory training improved dual n-back performance in both groups submitted to this intervention but only the group that received atDCS+WMT displayed a significant improvement from pretest to follow-up in transfer measures of reasoning (RAPM) and short-term memory (forward Digit Span). Near transfer improvements predicted gains in far transfer, demonstrating that the far transfer is due to an improvement in the trained construct of working memory. Age, formal education, and vocabulary score seem to predict the gains in reasoning. However, Bayesian results do not provide substantial evidence to support this claim. Conclusion: This study will help to consolidate the incipient but auspicious field of cognitive training coupled with tDCS in healthy older adults. Our findings demonstrated that atDCS may potentialize WMT by promoting transfer effects in short-term memory and reasoning in older adults, which are observed especially at follow-up.