Experts in: Cognitive neuroscience
ARGUIN, Martin
Professeur titulaire
- Attention
- Neuroimaging
- Lecture
- Cognitive neuropsychology
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Object recognition
- Visual processing
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:
- 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
- Visual recognition of objects: properties of the system for encoding visual shapes and representation of structural knowledge
BEAUCHAMP, Miriam
Professeure titulaire
- Social neuroscience
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Biomarkers
- Child development
- Neuropsychologie
- Child psychiatry
- Developmental and acquired problems
My research program is aimed at achieving a better understanding of childhood development and the consequences of early brain injury. We use several methodological and technological approaches in four main spheres of investigation:
- Studies of normal childhood development and predictive factors of brain and cognitive maturation
- Investigation of the effects of perinatal brain injury (e.g. prematurity) and postnatal brain injury (e.g. cranial trauma) on cognition, social competence, quality of life and brain development
- Development and validation of new cognitive tasks and social skills (e.g. moral reasoning, theory of mind, executive functions)
- Development of intervention programs for parents and children/teens with traumatic brain injuries
Target populations: healthy populations, traumatic brain injury, prematurity, behavioural problems, child psychiatric disorders, metabolic/genetic diseases, other neuropsychological disorders, etc.
Techniques used: MRI, fMRI, PET, DTI, eye tracking, neuropsychological assessment, longitudinal studies, etc.
BELLEVILLE, Sylvie
Professeure titulaire
- Cerebral plasticity
- Neuropsychologie
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Cognitive intervention
- Alzheimer's type dementia
- Memory
- Working memory
- Virtual Reality
- Aging
My research focuses on the study of memory from the viewpoint of cognitive neuropsychology. My work has three main themes: the first examines the effect of focal brain lesions on the components of working memory, in order to better understand its organization. I am also interested in mnesic functioning in other pathologies (e.g. autism, callosotomies). A second theme of my work is characterizing working memory disorders in Alzheimer's-type dementia. In this context I am also interested in mnesic decline in normal elderly subjects. This project will eventually help identify mnesic tasks that can contribute to distinguishing between Alzheimer's-type dementia and normal aging. Lastly, the third theme is the development of tools for evaluating memory and attention that are sensitive and theory-based, for supporting the evaluation work of neuropsychology clinicians.
BOLLER, Benjamin
Professeur associé
BRAMBATI, Simona Maria
Professeure agrégée
- Aging
- Alzheimer's type dementia
- Language
- Neuropsychologie
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Aphasia
- Atypical dementias
- Magnetic-resonance imaging
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.
CARRIER, Julie
Professeure titulaire
DOYON, Julien
Professeur associé
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Motricity
- Sleep and learning
- Cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar systems and learning
Study of the behavioural conditions that determine the learning of motor skills and neurofunctional plasticity characterizing this type of procedural memory in adult humans, using experimental approaches involving psychophysical and psychopharmacological methods on young or elderly subjects, studies of clinical populations (e.g. Parkinson's disease or brain damage) and some imaging techniques (e.g.: positron-emission tomography [PET] and functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI]) in healthy subjects and neurological patients.
Exploration of the role of the simple passage of time and of sleep (nighttime and daytime) in consolidating two types of motor learning, and identification of the neuroanatomical substrates underlying the consolidation of these types of memory.
Differentiation, using neuroimaging and methods of analyzing connectivity between networks in co-activated regions, of the contribution of cerebral structures forming cortico-striatal (CS) and cortico-cerebellar (CC) circuits, and the dynamics of the neurofunctional changes involving these two cortico-subcortical systems in the different stages of learning and recalling a motor sequence or motor adaptation.
Comparative study of the neurofunctional plasticity observed during the physical and mental practice of a sequence of movements, and identification of the neuronal networks characteristic of subjects with good abilities to use IM and those revealed when visual images are activated versus kinesthetic sensations of movements.
GOSSELIN, Frédéric
Professeur titulaire
GOSSELIN, Nadia
Professeure agrégée
JOLICOEUR, Pierre
Professeur titulaire
Experimental cognitive science, computer models and simulations of cognitive processes and neuroimaging to determine why and how attention functions or fails.
LEPORE, Franco
Professeur titulaire
LIPPÉ, Sarah
Professeure titulaire
- Epilepsy
- Infants
- Neuropsychologie
- Child development
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- The brain and learning
- Pathological development
- Acquired lesions
- Developmental lesions
As adults we are often amazed by how quickly and easily children learn. There are many factors influencing child development. My research program is aimed at better understanding the cerebral mechanisms involved in learning processes in children and infants.
- Study of cerebral mechanisms for learning in healthy children.
- Links with normal brain development, sleep/wake cycles, nutrition, family environment, self-regulation by children, etc.
Second, I am interested in the pathologies that sometimes occur at key moments in child development and can be harmful to cerebral, cognitive and emotional development. For instance, I am studying the effects of epilepsy caused by a developmental lesion and epilepsy with no apparent cause.
Investigation methods: neuroimaging (structural and functional), electrophysiology (EEG/MEG), behaviour (eye tracking, neuropsychological tests).
MCKERRAL, Michelle
Professeure titulaire, Directrice de département
- Traumatisme craniocérébral
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Neuropsychologie
- Réadaptation
- Visual System
- Developmental sensory and cognitive disorders
A few objectives of our research at our electrophysiology and traumatic brain injury impact study laboratory (CRLB-CRIR and CERNEC):
- The use of visual and cognitive electrophysiology and neuropsychological tests to objectify alterations in brain function and means of recovery after a traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- The study of the effectiveness of cognitive and rehabilitation interventions and the links between brain function, symptomatology and some indicators of post-TBI development, such as ability to work and quality of life
PERETZ, Isabelle
Professeure titulaire
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Amusia
- Brain and music
- Musical cognition
- Emotions
- Musique et Langage
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.
RIGOULOT, Simon
Professeur associé
SCHOENWIESNER, Marc
Professeur associé
THÉORET, Hugo
Professeur titulaire
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.