My research activities focus on the cognitive aspects of visual processing, in both normal individuals and those who have suffered brain injuries. My main objectives are to identify the normal mechanisms involved in visual processing and to characterize the functional deficits resulting from brain damage. I use behavioural and electrophysiological methods. My current projects concern a number of themes:

1. Reading: visual mechanisms (i.e. shape perception and visuospatial attention) involved in accessing orthographic-lexical knowledge when recognizing written words, and organization of the lexical representation system
2. Visual recognition of objects: properties of the system for encoding visual shapes and representation of structural knowledge

Dr Belleville contributes to the developement and understandin of cognitive training for older adults and persons at risk of dementia and on the prevention of age-related cognitive decline. She identifies processes of compensation and plasticity in mild cognitive impairment using brain imaging techniques. She also developed an important research program on the neuropsychology of memory in aging and dementia and has contributed to a better understanding of the neuropsychological deficits found in persons with very early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment. She created and leads the CIMAQ, a cohort of well-characterized older adults with suspected prodromal Alzheimer’s disease.

My research work focuses mainly on the neurophysiology of the motor system. Among other things I study the effects of traumatic brain injury on the integrity of the inhibitory and excitatory intracortical circuits of the primary motor cortex. In addition, I am aiming to better understand the motor mechanisms associated with observing others. The techniques used in my laboratory include transcranial magnetic stimulation, electroencephalography and magnetic-resonance imaging.