Fernandes, Sara M.

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Fernandes

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Sara M.

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Sara M. Fernandes

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Doutorada em Psicologia, na área da Neuropsicologia Clínica, Mestre em Psicologia, na área das Ciências Cognitivas e Licenciada em Psicologia Clínica. É pós-graduada em Neuropsicologia Clínica e realizou várias formações não conferentes a grau, em áreas da intervenção psicológica e pedagógica. É docente universitária desde 2000 e desde 2015 é Professora Auxiliar do Departamento de Psicologia e Educação da Universidade Portucalense (UPT). É Coordenadora do 2º ciclo de estudos em Psicologia no Mestrado em Psicologia Clínica e da Saúde, na UPT. É elemento da equipa de coordenação do Centro Clínico Portucalense de Psicologia (C2P2). É membro integrado do Instituto Portucalense de Psicologia (I2P), tem colaborado em projetos de investigação, nacionais e internacionais e é revisora por pares em revistas científicas SCOPUS e WoS. É membro fundador e presidente da Assembleia Geral da Sociedade Portuguesa de Neuropsicologia (SPNpsy), membro efetivo da Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (OPP) com especialidade avançada em Neuropsicologia e membro da American Psychological Association (APA). Os seus interesses de investigação centram-se na área da neuropsicologia e neurociências (básica e aplicada), nomeadamente no contexto das perturbações do neurodesenvolvimento e envelhecimento. Afiliação: I2P - Instituto Portucalense de Psicologia. DPE - Departamento de Psicologia e Educação.

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0000-0003-4257-0530
5B1A-1694-0186
57213450875
G-9849-2016

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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

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    PublicationOpen Access
    Sala decorada – aprendizagem danificada? Um paradigma para o estudo da influência de elementos (ir)relevantes da sala de aula
    2023-03-31 - Coelho, Sónia; Fernandes, Sara M.; Rodrigues, Pedro F. S.
    A distração visual é amplamente estudada com diversos tipos de tarefas e em diversos grupos etários. Contudo, a influência que um ambiente circundante pode ter no desempenho cognitivo dos indivíduos tem sido mais recentemente explorada, mas ainda com muitas questões por responder. Rodrigues e Pandeirada conduziram estudos com crianças dos 8-12 anos (2018) e com adolescentes dos 13-17 anos (2019) com o objetivo de perceberem a influência do ambiente visual circundante no desempenho obtido em tarefas cognitivas básicas (e.g., blocos de corsi e go/no-go). Os resultados indicaram que os elementos visuais presentes no ambiente circundante influenciaram o desempenho dos participantes: no ambiente com alta carga visual os participantes apresentaram resultados inferiores quando comparados com as tarefas realizadas no ambiente sem elementos visuais. Contudo, pouco se sabe sobre o efeito de ambientes visuais circundantes, quando os elementos visuais estão relacionados ou não relacionados com tarefas de aprendizagem escolar. O objetivo principal deste projeto foi perceber o efeito do ambiente visual circundante no desempenho obtido por crianças (idade escolar: 7-10 anos) em tarefas escolares. Para o efeito, pretendeu-se: 1) Manipular o fundo/paredes da sala de aula com diferentes elementos visuais (elementos relacionados vs. não relacionados com os conteúdos a aprender); 2) Perceber o efeito dessa manipulação ambiental no desempenho obtido por crianças dos 7 aos 10 anos de idade (ensino básico) em tarefas escolares. Neste poster apresenta-se o paradigma experimental utilizado neste projeto e alguns resultados preliminares, discutidos à luz das teorias existentes.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Assessing of the Italian version of the Memory Strategy Test (TMS) in people with Parkinson disease: A preliminary descriptive psychometric study
    2023-06-24 - Vaccaro, Maria Grazia; Pullano, Luca; Canino, Silvia; Pastore, Massimiliano; Sarica, Alessia; Quattrone, Andrea; Migliorini, Filippo; Maestu, Fernando; Quattrone, Aldo; Fernandes, Sara M.
    Previous literature has shown that executive functions (EF) are related to performance in memory (M) tasks. The Test of Memory strategies (TMS) is a psychometric test that examines EF and M simultaneously and it was recently validated on an Italian healthy cohort. The first aim of the study was to apply TMS, for the first time, on a sample of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), who are characterized by mild cognitive impairment. The second aim is to investigate whether TMS scores can discriminate PD patients from healthy controls.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Noção do tempo e ritmos biológicos: Implicações para a gestão de recursos humanos
    2002 - Silva, Carlos Fernandes da; Silvério, Jorge Manuel; Razente, Sérgio Valente; Fernandes, Sara M.
    O trabalho nocturno e por turnos, para além de um sistema de trabalho, é também um problema que assume cada vez mais contornos de saúde pública. [...]
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Semantic-phonetic discrepancy in elderly people with and without subjective memory complaints: the effect of executive demand [poster presentation]
    2024-04-19 - Paiva, Bárbara; López-Higes, Ramón; Rubio-Valdehita, Susana; Rodrigues, Pedro F. S.; Fernandes, Sara M.
    Sem resumo disponível.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Concepto, evolución y etiología del TDAH
    2017 - Piñón-Blanco, Adolfo; Vázquez-Justo, Enrique; Fernandes, Sara M.
    El trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH) es considerado un trastorno del neurodesarrollo, con base genética y elevada heredabillidad, en el que se hallan implicados diversos factores neuropsicológicos. Los niños con TDAH tienen dificultades para prestar atención, presentan un comportamiento impulsivo y, en algunos casos, son hiperactivos. A lo largo de la historia han sido numerosas las definiciones que se le han dado a este trastorno. En este capítulo, haremos una descripción de esta evolución, asi como de su etiología.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Sexual aggressors, characterization of a Portuguese sample
    2019 - Barros, Marlene Sophie; Fernandes, Sara M.
    The sexual crime is a current issue and it is a real and serious problem in our society. Sexual aggressors tend to be people who perform normal professional duties of which no one is suspicious. Incidentally, whoever has knowledge of the crime is the victim and the perpetrator, who makes sure that no one is nearby for to engage in sexual intercourse. This study aims to characterize a sample of sexual aggressors from the north of Portugal to verify if sexual aggressors present a diagnosed mental disorder and if the profile found in sexual aggressors is in accordance with the classification found the literature, as well as to know the relationship of proximity between the victim and the aggressor. This is a quantitative and qualitative study that was carried out with a sample of 48 sexual aggressors in total, in which 46 are of the masculine gender and only two of the feminine gender between 19 and 76 years of age, being the sexual aggressors often family members, close friends or even neighbors. For this purpose, a consultation of the processes of the sexual crimes was carried out in the Court in the north of Portugal. The results of this study corroborate with some of other studies conducted characterizing these aggressors as the age, profession, marital status, proximity relationship and whether the victim is known. This study contributed to the increase of more information about these aggressors, thus allowing, that sentences can be directed to the rehabilitation of offenders, rehabilitation, that this more adjusted to each individual profile, in order to reduce recidivism.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Differentiation between normal cognition and subjective cognitive decline in older adults using discrepancy scores derived from neuropsychological tests
    2024-06-19 - López-Higes, Ramón; Rubio-Valdehita, Susana; Fernandes, Sara M.; Rodrigues, Pedro F. S.
    Several studies have reported subtle differences in cognition between individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) compared to those with normal cognition. This study aimed to (i) identify these differences using discrepancy scores (e.g., categorial–phonemic verbal fluency performance) derived from neuropsychological tests in three cognitive domains (memory: Wechsler’s Word List and Digits; executive functions: Stroop and verbal fluency; and language: BNT and ECCO_Senior) and (ii) determine which discrepancy scores are significant for classification. Seventy-five older adults were included: 32 who were labeled SCD+ (age 71.50 ± 5.29), meeting Jessen et al.’s criteria, and 43 in the normal cognition group (SCD−; age 69.81 ± 4.62). Both groups completed a protocol including screening and the specified neuropsychological tests. No differences were found between the groups in their age, education, episodic memory, global cognitive state, or mood. Significant differences between the groups were observed regarding the discrepancy scores derived from BNT (naming) and ECCO_Senior (sentence comprehension). These scores accurately classified participants (71.6%), with ECCO_Senior having a primary role. ROC curves indicated a poor-to-fair model quality or diagnostic accuracy (AUC_BNT = 0.690; AUC_ECCO = 0.722). In conclusion, discrepancy scores in the language domain are important for distinguishing between individuals with SCD and normal cognition, complementing previous findings in this domain. However, given their relatively poor diagnostic accuracy, they should be used with caution as part of a more detailed neuro-psychological assessment.
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    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.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Rendimento neuropsicológico en el test de classificación de tarjetas de Wisconsin en una muestra portuguesa: La importância de una validación.
    2007 - Sánchez Rodríguez, Juan Luis; Fernandes, Sara M.
    En la actualidad no existen dudas de la evaluación neuropsicológica es un método necesario y fiable, para el diagnóstico de las patologías donde se incluyen los processos neurodegenerativos. Permite detectar, precozmente, posibles lesiones y disfunciones cerebrales con técnicas no invasivas para los pacientes, y un menor coste en realción a otras técnicas diagnósticas. El Test de Clasificación de Tarjetas de Wisconsin es una prueba que presenta una alta fiabilidad y validez que nos permite, con un buen rigor científico, y asegurar los criterios de replicabilidade. Por este motivo y por su fácil y rápida administración, hemos seleccionado este test para validar a una muestra portuguesa. Objetivo: Pretendemos definir los datos normativos muestrales del Test de Classificación de Tarjetas de Wisconsin, en una muestra portuguesa, sin patología, y así analizarlos posteriormente con los baremos actuales. Analizar si existen correlaciones significativas entre los resultados de la muestra portuguesa, y la validez interna del WCST (Heaton, 1993). Se pretende, estudiar la importancia de la influencia de las variables como género, edad, nivel educacional y nivel socioeconómico, en el rendimiento neuropsicológico de estos sujetos. Sujetos y métodos: la muestra utilizada para este estudio, estaba constituida por 48 sujetos de habla portuguesa, sanos, que participaron de forma voluntaria en el estudio. Resultados: los estudios llevados a cabo para la verificación de los objetivos planteados, nos informan de la necesidad de construir los baremos a unos resultados interpretados en función de un grupo muestral de rewferencia, que sea similar a la población a la pertenezca el individuo evaluado. Conclusiones: este trabajo, demuestra que los procedimientos son adecuados para la evaluación de la muestra portuguesa en las variables anteriormente citadas.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Everyday Memory Questionnaire [13-items]: European Portuguese translation and psychometric characterization
    2024-04-01 - Ribeiro, Bruna; Rubio-Valdehita, Susana; López-Higes, Ramón; Rodrigues, Pedro F. S.; Fernandes, Sara M.
    Subjective Memory Complaints (SMCs) are very frequent in the community, but more markedly in older people (Ginó et al., 2010; Zapater-Fajarí et al., 2022). Several studies have indicated an association between SMCs and memory objectively measured, although the results maintain inconsistency. However, SMCs constitute an important symptom in clinical contexts which is usually associated with the search for clinical care. Scientific literature has reported several questionnaires to assess SMCs [e.g., Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ) - 13 items; Royle & Lincoln, 2008]. However, in Portugal there are very few instruments that measure SMCs. This study aimed to translate and present preliminary psychometric data of the EMQ (13-items) for application to the Portuguese population. This instrument has been reported in literature as one of the most used instruments to assess memory complaints. Additionally, this study aimed to explore factors that could predict SMCs (i.e., age, depression, anxiety). The sample was composed of 344 participants (241 female), with ages between 18 and 80 years (M = 36.4, SD = 15.9). Participants completed the following self-report questionnaires: Sociodemographic Questionnaire, EMQ 13-items, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y2). The results suggested that the EMQ 13-items presents good psychometric properties, specifically internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.92), and factorial validity (two-factor structure that explained 60.3% of the total variance), although the sample presents some limitations. In a sub-sample, some negative correlations were found between EMQ 13-items and MoCA subscales. The results also indicated that depression and age are predictors of the subjective memory complaints, a pattern of results found in studies with several instruments that assess memory complaints. Given that this instrument revealed good psychometric characteristics for a Portuguese sample, although this is a preliminary study, this constitutes a starting point for new studies (e.g., transcultural studies).