Patrícia Oliveira-Silva

(Department of Education and Psychology of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto)

Scientific and Pedagogical Coordinator

She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Minho (Braga) and now serves as the coordinator of the Human Neurobehavioral Laboratory (HNL) and as an instructor in the Department of Education and Psychology. Throughout her academic career, she has been predominantly involved in research that explores neurophysiological mechanisms as they relate to behavior. In particular, there's a focus on questions pertinent to the regulation and description of biological bases as they relate to social behavior. She has participated in research projects financed by national and foreign agencies; established scientific cooperation among national and international groups; supervised research projects at the graduate and post-graduate level; carried out research in many national and international labs; organized scientific events and summer programming for a national and international audience; been a guest for graduate and post-graduate training programs; taught in the fields of neuroscience, language, attention, emotions and psychophysiology. She has also published many dissertations that explored the connection between neurophysiological bases and human behavior.

Diana Pereira

(Department of Education and Psychology of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto)

Diana Pereira earned her PhD in Basic Psychology from the University of Minho, her Master's in Clinical and Health Psychology from the Department of Psychology and Education Science at the University of Porto and completed her post-graduate work in clinical intervention with a focus on Psychogerontology and Neuropsychogerontolgy. Diana Pereira serves as a member of the Order of Portuguese Psychologists and an Associate / Visiting Professor at Católica – Porto. She has conducted research about memory using behavioral, neuropsychological and neuroimaging data. She also collaborated on projects pertaining to the aging proecess – conducting neuropsychological assessments – and studies tracking the impact of cognitive training and cognitive rehabilitation strategies. More recently, she has collaborated on a clinical study through Project MindGAP with the Portuguese Institute of Oncology (Porto). This project aims to explore the effects of cognitive therapy based on mindfulness through a number of psychosocial and biological lenses, namely in the context of extracellular vesicles from the central nervous system. Her present areas of interest include: (1) the study of memory throughout one's development and with clinical conditions (e.g., cognitive changes connected with cancer), (2) the study of the impact of neuropsychological intervention not based in pharmacology (e.g., cognitive training and compensatory strategies) on cognitive function and cerebral indicators and (3) the study of innoative markers and asssessment devices that are sensitive to changes in health, as well as gauging changes in response to neuropsychological adjustments.

Amable Muñoz

(University of Madrid, Spain)

He received his degree in Philosophy and Education Science (concentrating in Psychology) in 1988 and his PhD in Psychology (1997) from the University of Oviedo. He earned his Master's in Psychopharmacology from the University of Valenica (2015) and is currently working toward his Master's in Pediatric Neurology and Neurodevelopment. Since 2005, he has been an adjunct professor in the Department of Psyschology at the University of CEU San Pablo's School of Medicine (Montepríncipe campus, Boadilla del Monte, Madrid).

Sónia S. Sousa

(University of Minho)

Sónia S. Sousa is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and holds a PhD in Basic Psychology/Neurosciences from the University of Minho, Portugal. Her academic and professional career has focused on the study of brain-behavior relationships across the lifespan, with particular emphasis on executive functions, self-regulation, and their relevance to clinical, developmental, and health-related contexts. Since 2011, she has developed experience in neuropsychological assessment and in experimental and neuroscientific methodologies for the study of human cognition.

Her research focuses particularly on executive functions and frontostriatal brain systems, as well as on how developmental, contextual, and lifestyle-related factors may contribute to cognitive and neural vulnerability or resilience. Part of her work has examined inhibitory control, self-regulation, and neurocognitive alterations associated with alcohol use and addiction. Her research combines neuropsychological and behavioral assessment with multimodal neuroimaging, including structural MRI, functional MRI, and diffusion-weighted imaging.

She has experience in undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate teaching and in the supervision of students in Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology, and Cognitive Neuroscience. She has participated in and coordinated nationally and internationally funded research projects and is currently involved in the scientific coordination of projects addressing neurocognitive functioning, prevention, and intervention. Her international experience includes research collaborations and specialized training at international institutions.