My main interest is to characterize the anatomo-functional architecture of individual brains using neuroimaging data, and in particular using resting-state fMRI. I am also interested in examining how brain connectivity can be used as a biomarker of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. These questions raise considerable methodological challenges, which feed the technical aspects of my work. To explore the resting-state networks in fMRI, I use some unsupervised pattern recognition techniques, i.e. various types of clustering and component analysis. To deal with the statistics associated with a stochastic clustering process, I have been working on non-parametric statistical methods, in particular based on the bootstrap. Besides the exploration of real data, my research also includes the development of fully synthetic neuroimaging databases which cover many aspects of the data-generating process, from neural activity and physiological noise to the physics of image acquisition, to provide a test bed for the evaluation and validation of neuroimaging analysis methods.

Dr. Brambati has a PhD in Molecular Medicine (cognitive neuropsychology profile) from the Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan, Italy (2006). She then completed post-doctoral studies at the Memory and Aging Center (University of California, San Francisco) (2006-2007), and the IUGM research centre. Today she is a researcher at the IUGM research centre (FRQ-S Junior 1) and a professor on loan to the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal.

My field of research is cognitive neuropsychology. The approach is characterized by the study of the effects of brain lesions on cognitive functions. I am interested in musical perception and recognition; emotions; language; prosody; and memory. These functions all have a link with musical cognition, which remains my main field of interest. Aside from brain lesions, we also work with neurologically healthy adults or those with a specific congenital disorder (autism, congenital amusia). Lastly, we use various exploration techniques including, currently, event-related potential (ERP) responses, neuroimaging by magnetic resonance and electrodermal responses. Our team has access to two laboratories: one in the psychology department, in the GRENE research centre, and the other at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal. I receive financial support for my research work from the NSERC and the CIHR (MRC) and from the FCAR and FRSQ.