Dr. Simon Rigoulot is a Professor of Neurosciences and Psychology at the University of Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR, Dept. of Psychology) and an Associate Professor at Université de Montréal. He studied Cognitive Sciences at Université de Lille (France), and defended his thesis in 2008. His work has been focused on Affective Neurosciences and deals with the neural correlates of the processing of emotional information, in visual and auditory modalities. He is now interested in multimodal emotional information and how individual factors such as cultural background or emotional skills influence this processing. His research methods involve a multi-dimensional approach, combining peripheral (Eye-Tracking, Skin Conductance Response, Heart Rate, Electro-myography…), central (Electro- and Magneto-Encephalography, functional near infrared spectroscopy) and behavioral measures. His projects also aim to shed light on the links between a set of emotional competences (identification, detection, regulation, and utilization) and the development of psychopathologies such as anxiety, depression. In parallel, his interests extended to the study of speech and music, through two specific avenues. The first concerns the role of prosody (tone of voice) in conveying meaningful information, be it emotion or real intention of speakers, such as in irony, lies, innuendos. The second one is about the processing of rhythmic information and the ability of lay participants to synchronize to this type of information, and how attentional and emotional processes can affect this ability.

J'étudie des mécanismes d'analyse sonore dans le cerveau humain avec l'imagerie par résonance magnétique fonctionnelle, l'électroencéphalographie, et des tests psycho-acoustiques.

I was originally trained in mathematics and neuroimaging and now I'm interested in how we can have effective dialogue on challenging topics. In order to study this I work on empathy and interpersonal communication. I approach the question theoretically, through empirical study, and through on-the-ground interventions.

Sa recherche couvre tous les aspects du traitement des informations auditives chez l’humain, qu’il s’agisse de l’étude des propriétés fonctionnelles et structurelles du cortex auditif, de la différence entre ces propriétés selon l’hémisphère, et des changements qu’entraînent la formation ou une perte sensorielle. Son laboratoire a recours à l’IRM fonctionnelle et structurelle, à la magnétoencéphalographie (MEG) et à l’électroencéphalographie (EEG), à des techniques de stimulation du cerveau, ainsi qu’à des mesures cognitives et psychophysiques. En 2006, il a fondé le laboratoire international de recherche sur le cerveau, la musique et le son BRAMS, qu’il codirige; il s’agit d’un consortium multi-universitaire unique en neuroscience cognitive de la musique, doté d’installations de pointe. En 2011, on lui a attribué le Prix annuel Plasticité Neuronale de la Fondation IPSEN. En 2013, il a reçu le Prix Knowles en recherche sur l’ouïe de l’Université Northwestern, et en 2017, il a été élu à la Société royale du Canada.