Language & Communication
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Amélie M. AchimUnderstanding the roots of social cognition to help people with schizophrenia and social anxiety.Prof. Amélie Achim studies the bases of social cognition, which is a set of processes that allow us to understand others and their thoughts, intentions and emotions, and which therefore guide our social interactions. Poor social cognition is linked to the adjustment and integration problems of people with schizophrenia. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying social cognition aims to improve the effectiveness of interventions for these people. Dr. Achim's team... |
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Martin DeschênesStudying the senses as a key to understand how complex behaviours are coordinated in the brainMost senses require movement to extract information from the environment: vision is associated with eye and head movements, hearing with head movements, touching entails limb movements, and olfaction requires movement of the nose. To understand how movement and sensation are coordinated to lead to sensory perception, Professor Martin Deschênes and his team study the rodent vibrissa system, a model widely used in neuroscience. The whisking movement allows rodents to explore their... |
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Nicolas DoyonReaching a deeper understanding of neurons and neural networks through mathematical simulation and modeling.Professor Nicolas Doyon, from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, uses his expertise in mathematical modeling to better understand how ion transporters influence signal processing by neurons. Precise control of the amounts of certain ions, such as chloride ions, is necessary for the proper functioning of neurons. Professor Doyon's studies have led to a better understanding of the spatio-temporal control of ion transport in neurons. Defects in the... |
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Simon DuchesneImportant discoveries in brain imaging enabling early diagnosis of brain disordersDr. Simon Duchesne's research aims to enable the earliest possible diagnosis of degeneration of the brain, as caused by disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. By comparing measurements taken from radiological images of the brains of cognitively healthy people with those of the brains of people with a disease, Professor Duchesne can determine the significant differences that characterize the latter. The presence of such "biomarkers" in the brain could predict the onset of symptoms decades in advance... |
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Matthieu GuittonCyberbehavior – The study of human behaviors in virtual spacesProfessor Matthieu Guitton's research aims to understand the behavior of people online, in virtual spaces. He is as interested in the psychology of individuals and virtual communities (including virtual communities of patients) as in the social dynamics in these groups, ethics, and computer-aided communication. Impact and use of the internet and virtual reality in healthDr. Guitton's research also focuses on information technologies applied to health sciences. He is studying telemedicine, the... |
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Joël MacoirEarly detection of neurodegenerative diseases by language tests and other cognitive testsProfessor Joël Macoir's research aims to develop and validate tests to detect or diagnose language and cognition disorders associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, progressive primary aphasia and other forms of dementia. Recently, projects in this area of research have led to the development of a quick and simple test that can be administered by frontline health care professionals to detect the presence of language disorders commonly observed in pathological... |
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Pascale TremblayLearning how the language networks changes during agingThe work of Professor Pascale Tremblay aims to understand the production and perception of language, and the evolution and modification of these advanced functions with age and experience. Because language is a complex process, Dr. Tremblay is advancing this field through an innovative multidisciplinary approach that integrates data from multiple disciplines including cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, and rehabilitation, and utilising multiple methodological approaches, including neuroimaging, brain stimulation and... |
