Percorrer por autor "Lopes, Paulo Jorge Ferreira"

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    Depression, Social Support, Executive Functioning, Functionality, and Quality of Life in Institutionalized Elderly People
    (Edições Universitárias Lusófonas, 2019-12) Ribeiro, Anabela; Rosa, Beatriz; Oliveira, Jorge; Lopes, Paulo Jorge Ferreira; HEI-LAB (FCT) - Digital Laboratories for Environments and Human Interactions
    Aim: Our aim was to study the executive functioning, functionality, and quality of life of institutionalized old aged persons and to determine the potential roles of self-reported depression and satisfaction with social support on these domains. Method: The sample comprised 36 volunteers (13 males and 23 females) aged between 71 and 94 years. The measures used consisted of well-established battery of neuropsychological tests. A comparative study was performed. Results: Participants with depressive symptoms shown impaired executive functioning. Cognitive flexibility, functionality in instrumental activities of daily living, and quality of life are more affected in participants with higher levels of depression that also report higher levels of satisfaction with social support. Conclusion: This result is intriguing and may highlight the relevance of considering not only depression, but also factors related to social isolation and loneliness in the explanation of cognitive performance, functionality, and quality of life.
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    Diagnostic precision of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in assessing cognitive deficits in substance use disorders
    (Edições Universitárias Lusófonas, 2021-04-01) Faustino, Bruno; Oliveira, Jorge; Lopes, Paulo Jorge Ferreira; HEI-LAB (FCT) - Digital Laboratories for Environments and Human Interactions
    The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is a widely used neuropsychological instrument to assess executive functions related to cognitive flexibility and abstract reasoning. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the diagnostic precision of this instrument in sub- stance use disorders. In this study, we aimed at assessing the sensitivity and specificity of the WCST in discriminating the performance of participants with substance use disorder with cognitive deficits and participants from the general population without cognitive defi- cits. The sample comprised three groups of participants with substance use disorders (opi- oid use disorder in harm reduction with methadone maintenance; opioid use disorder in treatment in a therapeutic community; alcohol use disorder in a therapeutic community) and a normative group of healthy adults. The total sample consisted of 587 participants that were assessed with cognitive tests for executive functions, general cognitive function- ing, and self-reported depression. The results showed differences between groups in most WCST variables, providing evidence of discriminant validity for this test. Convergent validity was also established by weak to moderate correlations with general cognitive functioning. Cutoff points based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated for the WCST variables. Overall, the WCST was sensitive to changes in cognitive flexibility and abstract reasoning that are key features of substance use disorders.
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    Metacognitive Self-Assessment Scale: psychometric properties and clinical implications
    (Edições Universitárias Lusófonas, 2021-09-01) Faustino, Bruno; Vasco, António Branco; Oliveira, Jorge; Lopes, Paulo Jorge Ferreira; Fonseca, Isabel Barahona da; HEI-LAB (FCT) - Digital Laboratories for Environments and Human Interactions
    Metacognition is a higher-order psychological construct that has been conceptualized as the abil- ity to identify and describe mental states, beliefs, and intentions of self and others. The Metacognition Self-Assessment Scale (MSAS), was developed to assess different functions of meta- cognition, being a potential asset in fields such as psychotherapy and clinical neuropsychology. However, a reliability and validity study is still lacking, as well, the study with other related meta- cognitive constructs. This research describes the psychometric analysis of the MSAS in a cross- sectional design and the study of the relationship between metacognitive functions, meta-beliefs and cognitive fusion. The sample comprised 194 participants from the general population (76% women), with an average age of 32 years old. Exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach alpha, test- retest, and validity procedures through bivariate correlations with convergent/divergent measures were conducted. The scale showed satisfactory psychometric properties with good internal consist- ency along with appropriate convergent/divergent validity. Metacognition and cognitive fusion were negatively correlated, while negative meta-beliefs and mastery predicted the variance of cog- nitive fusion. Decentering-differentiation factor correlated negatively with cognitive fusion and per- sonal discomfort. These results suggest that MSAS may be a reliable tool to assess metacognition in the Portuguese population. Clinical implications are discussed.
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    Normative scores of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in a sample of the adult Portuguese population
    (Edições Universitárias Lusófonas, 2020-09-01) Faustino, Bruno; Oliveira, Jorge; Lopes, Paulo Jorge Ferreira; HEI-LAB (FCT) - Digital Laboratories for Environments and Human Interactions
    Objectives: The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is a neuropsychological instrument that is widely used for assessment of executive functioning in both clinical and research settings. The aim of this study was to provide the normative scores for the WCST in a sample of Portuguese healthy adults. Methods: The data was collected from archival data in a total sample of 359 individuals, 149 men (41.5%, Mage1⁄438.3; SD1⁄420.3) and 210 women (58.5%, Mage1⁄452.2; SD1⁄419.4). Descriptive statis- tics were calculated to describe mean scores, standard-deviation and percentiles of the WCST indexes by gender, age and education. ANOVAs were used to explore the differences between these scores in sociodemographic variables. The normative scores were adjusted for age and educa- tional level. Results: Significant statistical differences in mean scores were found in several WCST indexes, such as, total errors, perseverations, perseverative errors and conceptual level responses regarding age and education. Percentiles for WCST indexes were stratified by age group and educa- tional level. Conclusions: Age and education are important factors explaining performance on the WCST. This is the first study focused on the development of WCST normative scores for the adult Portuguese population, which can be applied in clinical, educational and research contexts.
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    Virtual Reality Cognitive Training Among Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder Undergoing Residential Treatment
    (Edições Universitárias Lusófonas, 2021-01-01) Gamito, Pedro; Oliveira, Jorge; Matias, Marcelo Alexandre Cabaça; Cunha, Elsa Alexandra Pinto Ribeiro da; Brito, Rodrigo; Lopes, Paulo Jorge Ferreira; Deus, Alberto; HEI-LAB (FCT) - Digital Laboratories for Environments and Human Interactions
    Background: Alcoholusedisorder(AUD)hasbeenassociatedwithdiversephysicalandmentalmorbidities.Amongthemain consequences of chronic and excessive alcohol use are cognitive and executive deficits. Some of these deficits may be reversed in specific cognitive and executive domains with behavioral approaches consisting of cognitive training. The advent of computer-based interventions may leverage these improvements, but randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of digital interactive-based interventions are still scarce. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore whether a cognitive training approach using VR exercises based on activities of daily living is feasible for improving the cognitive function of patients with AUD undergoing residential treatment, as well as to estimate the effect size for this intervention to power future definitive RCTs. Methods: This study consisted of a two-arm pilot RCT with a sample of 36 individuals recovering from AUD in a therapeutic community; experimental group participants received a therapist-guided, VR-based cognitive training intervention combined with treatment as usual, and control group participants received treatment as usual without cognitive training. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery of tests was used both at pre- and postassessments, including measurement of global cognition, executive functions, attention, visual memory, and cognitive flexibility. Results: In order to control for potential effects of global cognition and executive functions at baseline, these domains were controlled for in the statistical analysis for each individual outcome. Results indicate intervention effects on attention in two out of five outcomes and on cognitive flexibility in two out of six outcomes, with effect sizes in significant comparisons being larger for attention than for cognitive flexibility. Patient retention in cognitive training was high, in line with previous studies. Conclusions: Overall, the data suggest that VR-based cognitive training results in specific contributions to improving attention ability and cognitive flexibility of patients recovering from AUD. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04505345; https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04505345