
Diogo MoraisLusophone University of Humanities and Technologies | ULHT · Escola de Psicologia e Ciências da Vida
Diogo Morais
MSc in Org. Communication
About
65
Publications
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1,195
Citations
Introduction
Using IT in Psychology
Additional affiliations
March 2004 - present

Independent Researcher
Publications
Publications (65)
Non-immersive VR environments are related to the least interactive application of VR techniques, such that interaction with the VR environment can occur commonly by 3D-TV without full immersion into the environment. This study presents how 3D-TV exposure combined with physiology recording can elicit fear of cockroaches among individuals with differ...
As the demographic structure in western societies ages, the prevalence and impact of cognitive decline rises. Thus, new solutions to tackle this problem are required. The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-based cognitive exercises has emerged in the last few decades, though with inconsistent results. Hence, we conducted a pre-...
Ecological validity should be the cornerstone of any assessment of cognitive functioning. For this purpose, we have developed a preliminary study to test the Art Gallery Test (AGT) as an alternative to traditional neuropsychological testing. The AGT involves three visual search subtests displayed in a virtual reality (VR) art gallery, designed to a...
The impairment of basic cognitive functions such as attention and visual working memory can have a significant negative impact in our ability to adapt to the permanent changes in the environment. VR Serious Games are being used as a new tool for both assessment, stimulation and rehabilitation of such impaired functions. Even though the results of t...
Alcohol dependence syndrome has been associated to disfunctions of the pre-frontal cortex, with a negative impact on several areas of cognitive functioning, such as attention, memory and learning, visual-spatial synthesis, executive functions, and psychomotor functions. These changes in turn contribute to the perpetuation of the addictive behavior....
Heroin addiction has a negative impact on cognitive functions, which may also contribute to poorer treatment outcomes in drug addition. Traditional cognitive rehabilitation approaches suffer from limited motivational appeal and are relatively cumbersome to carry out. Thus, we report a study testing the efficacy of an alternative mHealth approach us...
This investigation sought to understand whether performance in naturalistic virtual reality tasks for cognitive assessment relates to the cognitive domains that are supposed to be measured. The Shoe Closet Test (SCT) was developed based on a simple visual search task involving attention skills, in which participants have to match each pair of shoes...
This study aims at assessing an online portal where patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can carry on memory and attention exercises outside clinic premises. The training took place in a Virtual Reality setup where one TBI patient had to complete daily life activities such as hygiene, prepare food, buy products from a grocery shop and more. T...
Background:
An adequate behavioral response depends on attentional and mnesic processes. When these basic cognitive functions are impaired, the use of non-immersive Virtual Reality Applications (VRAs) can be a reliable technique for assessing the level of impairment. However, most non-immersive VRAs use indirect measures to make inferences about v...
Background:
Heroin addiction has a negative impact on cognitive functions, and even recovering addicts suffer from cognitive impairment. Recent approaches to cognitive intervention have been taking advantage of what new technologies have to offer.
Objectives:
We report a study testing the efficacy of a serious games approach using tablets to sti...
The elderly population is growing fast mainly in the industrialized countries. Ageing is associated with different morbidities including cognitive impairments that limit the ability of these individuals to carry out their daily life activities. This study reports on the development of a computer-assisted approach for cognitive assessment in the eld...
The meta-analysis is a statistical procedure applied to a systematic review of the literature on a particular theme, combining data from several investigations. Its relevance to clinical practice and research is high, taking into account the need to assess, objectively, the effectiveness of several interventions. This study stems from the need to s...
There is a growing body of research focusing on the ecological validity of neuropsychological assessments. For some authors, the neurocognitive tests should be developed to assess the operation of cognitive functions in real-world activities. This subject is particularly important in the elderly, where dysfunctions in daily life activities may sign...
The meta-analysis is a statistical procedure applied to a systematic review of the literature on a particular theme, combining data from several investigations. Its relevance to clinical practice and research is high, taking into account the need to assess, objectively, the effectiveness of several interventions. This study stems from the need to s...
This paper reports an exploratory analysis of the relation between Internet addiction and patterns of use among Portuguese adolescents (n = 2617) from the WHO 2010 Health Behavior in School-aged children study, with a short version of Young's Internet Addiction Test (the brief Internet Addiction Questionnaire – bIAQ) and self-reports on online beha...
A atenção e a memória de trabalho são funções cognitivas básicas humanas. Uma
resposta comportamental adequada, face a um ambiente em constante mudança, depende da
integridade destas funções. Quando estas funções estão comprometidas, a aplicação de
ambientes de realidade virtual (ARV) pode ser uma técnica valida para avaliação e reabilitação
dessas...
Background
Memory and attention are two cognitive domains pivotal for the performance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). The assessment of these functions is still widely carried out with pencil-and-paper tests, which lack ecological validity. The evaluation of cognitive and memory functions while the patients are performing IADLs...
Immersive virtual reality is thought to be advantageous by leading to higher levels of presence. However, and despite users getting actively involved in immersive three-dimensional virtual environments that incorporate sound and motion, there are individual factors, such as age, video game knowledge, and the predisposition to immersion, that may be...
Attention and working memory are basic human cognitive abilities. An adequate behavioral response, due to constant changes in the environment, depends on the integrity of these abilities. When these cognitive functions are impaired, the use of virtual reality applications (VRAs) can be a reliable technique for assessing and rehabilitating these cog...
Introduction:
This article is part of the Focus Theme of Methods of Information in Medicine on "Methodologies, Models and Algorithms for Patients Rehabilitation".
Background:
ICT is an emerging alternative to paper-and-pencil tests for the assessment of cognitive functions, allowing for the monitoring of participants' behavior while they perform...
Acquired brain impairments are responsible for cognitive dysfunctions that affect daily life activities. Promoting recovery via exercises stimulating cognitive functions through ecologically valid interactive media such as virtual reality (VR) is a fast-emerging option. However, assessment still relies largely on non-ecological measures such as pen...
Attention and working memory are essential aspects of human cognitive abilities. When these capacities are impaired, virtual reality applications (VRAs) can be a tool to assess and rehabilitate. However, most VRAs use indirect manual reaction time measures to make inferences about visual attention processes. Since behavioral measures are quite indi...
Alcohol abuse impacts on cognitive functioning. We report a test of a cognitive stimulation intervention on patients recovering from alcohol dependence syndrome. 169 patients were split into 2 groups (cognitive stimulation and controls). Patients in cognitive stimulation and engaged in a 10-session protocol with cognitive exercises in the form of s...
Purpose:
Use of virtual reality environments in cognitive rehabilitation offers cost benefits and other advantages. In order to test the effectiveness of a virtual reality application for neuropsychological rehabilitation, a cognitive training program using virtual reality was applied to stroke patients.
Methods:
A virtual reality-based serious...
Introduction:
This article is part of the Focus Theme of Methods of Information in Medicine on "New Methodologies for Patients Rehabilitation".
Background:
The ecological validity of paper-and-pencil neuropsychological tests is currently a matter of debate. Arguments in favor of alternatives indicate that paper-and-pencil forms are unable to acc...
Cats have certain strongly motivated behaviors, which could be defined as “needs”, that should be understood in order to provide the cat the best quality of life and assure proper welfare. It is well recognized that cats have several behavioral needs, which if not met, can result in anxiety and secondary behavior problems. These problems can lead t...
This cross-sectional study attempts to investigate the effects of the Aprender em Parceria (A PAR) programme, an intervention in early childhood education and parenting support in the suburbs of Great Lisbon which aims to increase the educational achievement of disadvantaged children from birth to six-years-old. A quasi-experimental design was used...
Acquired brain impairments are responsible for cognitive dysfunctions that affect daily life activities. Promoting cognitive exercise through ecologically-based interactive media such as virtual reality is an emerging option. Although the first step towards ecological ways to stimulate cognitive functions has been given, assessment still relies on...
Stroke is a major cause of cognitive impairments. New technologies such as virtual reality and mobile apps have opened up new possibilities of neuropsychological assessment and intervention. This paper reports a controlled study assessing cognitive functioning through a mobile virtual reality application. Fifteen stroke patients recruited from a re...
Background
The consequences of alcohol dependence are severe and may range from physical disease to neuropsychological deficits in several cognitive domains. Alcohol abuse has also been related to brain dysfunction specifically in the prefrontal cortex. Conventional neuropsychological interventions (paper-and-pencil cognitive stimulation training)...
Abstract Craving is a strong desire to consume that emerges in every case of substance addiction. Previous studies have shown that eliciting craving with an exposure cues protocol can be a useful option for the treatment of nicotine dependence. Thus, the main goal of this study was to develop a virtual platform in order to induce craving in smokers...
The current study examined the strength-of-memory signal for lateralised word presentation by using behavioural responses and pupillometry in a study-test design under different retention intervals. The behavioural data indicated that word recognition changes according to the retention variable, indicating a decrease in recognition performance for...
A large amount of studies have addressed the role of politicians’
appearance in the outcome of political elections in Western democracies.
More recently, the focus of most of these studies has been on facial
appearance-based trait inferences people make when considering electoral
choice between candidates. This chapter describes a pilot study explo...
The cognitive rehabilitation of stroke often improves executive functioning through repeated and systematic training of memory and attention exercises, for which virtual reality may be a valid approach. Several devices have been used as visual outputs, foremost Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) and desktop screens. HMDs are usually more immersive than s...
The consequences of alcohol dependence syndrome are severe, ranging from physical diseases to neuropsychological deficits in several cognitive domains. Alcohol abuse has also been related to brain dysfunction specifically in the prefrontal cortex. We assessed these deficits and the effects of traditional (pen-and-paper) and novel (mobile technology...
The cognitive rehabilitation of stroke is often related to improvement on executive functioning through repeated and systematic training of memory and attention exercises, in which virtual reality may be a valid approach. Several devices have been used as visual outputs. Head Mounted Displays (HMD) and desktop screens displays are amongst them. HMD...
The consequences of alcohol and opioid dependence are severe and may range from physical diseases to neuropsychological deficits in several cognitive domains. Alcohol and opioid abuse has also been related to brain dysfunction specifically in the prefrontal cortex. In order to assess these deficits and the application of a novel approach of cogniti...
Even though it is diminishing in Europe, smoking is still a serious health problem. The craving of Nicotine is one of the hardest behaviours to tackle when a smoking cessation programme is implemented. Following on previous work [1], which aimed at evaluating the possibility of inducing smoking craving in smokers using a VR platform, the present st...
Stroke can be considered as a major cause of death and the consequences are associated with different syndromes of the impaired physical, cognitive, behavioral and emotional domains. The cognitive rehabilitation is often related to improvement on executive functioning through repeated and systematic training in memory and attention exercises, in wh...
The main purpose of this study was to test a VR training programme to promote cognitive recovery of memory and attention deficits in patients that suffered from an acute ischemic stroke episode. Our sample consisted of two patients with memory and attention deficits resulting from stroke. The patients were submitted to a 10 training virtual reality...
This study aims at assessing an online portal where patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can carry on memory and attention exercises outside clinic premises. The training took place in a VR setup where one TBI patient had to complete a set of 10 online VR sessions. The neuropsychological evaluation was carried out with the PASAT (Paced Audito...
Snakes are thought as fear-relevant stimuli (biologically prepared to be associated with fear) which can lead to an enhanced attentional capture when compared fear-irrelevant stimuli. Inherent limitations related to the key-press behaviour might be bypassed with the measurement of eye movements, since they are more closely related to attentional pr...
Federmeier and Benjamin (2005) have suggested that semantic encoding for verbal information in the right hemisphere can be more effective when memory demands are higher. However, other studies (Kanske & Kotz, 2007) also suggest that visual word recognition differ in function of emotional valence. In this context, the present study was designed to e...
The increasing use of the World Wide Web has promised a huge advertising platform for marketers. Investment in online advertising is growing and is expected to overcome traditional media. However, recent studies have reported that users avoid looking at advertising displayed on the World Wide Web. This study aimed at examining the impact of verbal...
Snakes are thought as fear-relevant stimuli (biologically prepared to be associated with fear) which can lead to an enhanced attentional capture when compared fear-irrelevant stimuli. Inherent limitations related to the key-press behaviour might be bypassed with the measurement of eye movements, since they are more closely related to attentional pr...
Several forms of treatment for nicotine dependence that combine the classical smoking cessation strategies with new Virtual Reality (VR) exposure techniques to smoking-related cues are in development. In this line, the main goal of our study was to develop a virtual platform in order to induce cravings in smokers. Sixty undergraduate students were...
Around 25,000 war veterans in Portugal suffer posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This clinically controlled study evaluates virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) as an alternative procedure to reduce PTSD symptoms. Ten patients were assigned to three groups: VRET, exposure in imagination (EI), and waiting list (WL). The patients were Portugues...
Vários domínios científicos têm-se debruçado sobre a problemática da agressão. A Sociologia, a Biologia, a Antropologia, a Psiquiatria e a Psicologia têm abordado este tema sobre diferentes perspectivas e hipotetizado acerca das origens da agressão com base em factores demográficos e culturais, princípios evolutivos, alterações metabólicas ou proce...
Nature and origin of presence are still unclear. Although it can be characterized, under a neurophysiological perspective, as a process resulting from a synchrony between cognitive and perceptive systems, the multitude of associated processes reduces the chances of brain mapping presence. In this way, our study was designed in order to understand t...
The phytochemical composition of three aromatic plants (Cistus ladanifer L., Cupressus lusitanica Mill. and Eucalyptus gunnii Hook. f) was evaluated, in order to valorize them as sources of nutraceuticals. Samples were analysed for ascorbic acid by spectrophotometric assay, tocopherols by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a f...
More than 30 years after signing truces, there are still around 20,000 Portuguese war veterans that fill PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) diagnose criteria. Despite many of them attending therapy, the outcome is not cheerful. In this way, a research protocol was devised to investigate the opportunity of adopting virtual reality exposure therapy...
Besides physical injuries, motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are responsible for serious mental disorders, up to 40% of the victims of MVAs can develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A 42-year old patient was exposed to a virtual highway with an increasing anxiety triggering events (traffic intensity; horns; proximity of the surrounding buildin...
As a consequence of three wars in Africa (between 1961 and 1974), there are still around 25,000 Portuguese veterans with a diagnosis of PTSD. Treatment of such patients using traditional techniques has revealed to deliver inconsistent results. Aiming to assess the ability of VR exposure to reduce PTSD symptomatology, this paper focused on a pre-tri...
Resumo Este trabalho discute as implicações educativas da implementação de um Sistema de Gestão Ambiental a uma instituição do ensino superior, no caso a Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra. É unanimemente aceite que o caminho para a sustentabilidade passa pela educação, enquanto indutora de alterações ao nível das estruturas cognitivas, da consciên...
Palavras-chave: Validação, furosemida, doseamento, controle de qualidade. 1. INTRODUÇÃO Para garantir que um novo método analítico gere informações confiáveis e interpretáveis sobre a amostra ele deve sofrer uma avaliação denominada validação (RIBANI et al., 2004), que deve garantir, por meio de estudos experimentais, que o método atenda às exigênc...