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2301 Avenue d’Estimauville Québec (Québec) G1E 0N5 Canada
Professeure titulaire, École de Psychologie, Université Laval
Chercheuse régulière, Centre de recherche Cervo
Axe de recherche:
Neurosciences cliniques et cognitives
Isabelle Blanchette étudie comment les processus cognitifs tels que la mémoire, l’attention et le raisonnement sont affectés par les émotions; autant les émotions modérées de la vie quotidienne que les émotions intenses associées aux événements potentiellement traumatiques. Ses études mesurent l’impact cognitifs d’événements tels que les agressions sexuelles, les accidents de la route ou le stress opérationnel. Plusieurs projets portent sur l’impact psychologique de l’exposition aux conflits armés pour les populations civiles, notamment au Rwanda et en République Démocratique du Congo. Ses travaux permettent de mieux comprendre les conséquences des émotions et du trauma chez les personnes saines et chez les personnes souffrant de trouble de stress post-traumatique, anxiété ou dépression.
Isabelle Blanchette studies how cognitive processes such as attention, memory and reasoning are affected by emotions; both mild emotions experienced in everyday life and very intense emotions caused by potentially traumatic events. Her research measures the cognitive impact of events surch as sexual abuse, traffic accidents and operational stress. An important part of her work examines the psychological impact of exposure to armed conflicts and intergroupe violence in civilian populations, notably in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her research helps understand the consequences of emotion and trauma in the general population as well as in people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or depression.
Isabelle Blanchette est professeure titulaire à l’École de Psychologie de l’Université Laval. Elle a obtenu son PhD à l’Université McGill en 2000. Elle a ensuite effectué un postdoctorat à Birkbeck College, University of London. Elle a commencé sa carrière comme professeure à University of Manchester de 2002-2008 et a ensuite travaillé à l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières de 2008 à 2019, où elle a co-fondé et codirigé le groupe de rrecherche CogNAC (Cognition, Neurosciences, Affect et Comportement). Ses travaux de recherche portent sur le lien entre la cognition et les émotions, incluant des études fondamentales et d’autres examinant l’effet des événements traumatiques sur le fonctionnement cognitif. Elle s’est notamment intéressée aux corrélats cognitifs des expériences d’agressions sexuelles, de conflits armés (en Afrique) et du stress opérationnel chez les policiers et les militaires. Ses travaux sont soutenus par le Conseil de recherche en sciences naturelles et génie du Canada (CRSNG), le Conseil de recherche en sciences sociales du Canada (CRSH) et le Fonds Québécois en Recherche – Nature et Technologie. Isabelle Blanchette a été éditrice associée de la revue Cognition & Emotion et est actuellement membre de plusieurs comités éditoriaux.
Prix d’excellence en recherche; UQTR, 2018
Alice Wagenaar-Tison; Zoha Deldar; Antoine Bergeron; Benjamin Provencher; Stéphane Northon; Nabi Rustamov; Isabelle Blanchette; Sylvain Sirois; Mathieu Piché
Pupil dilation evoked by painful electrical stimulation is abolished during pain inhibition by distraction Article de journal
Dans: J Physiol Sci, vol. 75, no 2, p. 100026, 2025, ISSN: 1880-6562.
@article{pmid40409165,
title = {Pupil dilation evoked by painful electrical stimulation is abolished during pain inhibition by distraction},
author = {Alice Wagenaar-Tison and Zoha Deldar and Antoine Bergeron and Benjamin Provencher and Stéphane Northon and Nabi Rustamov and Isabelle Blanchette and Sylvain Sirois and Mathieu Piché},
doi = {10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100026},
issn = {1880-6562},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-07-01},
journal = {J Physiol Sci},
volume = {75},
number = {2},
pages = {100026},
abstract = {The aim of the present study was to examine the contribution of spinal and supraspinal processes to pain modulation by attention. It is hypothesized that pain inhibition by distraction is accompanied by reduced pain-evoked pupil dilation and cerebral activity, but no inhibition of the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR), while pain anticipation is expected to increase pain perception and pain-related responses. Twenty healthy volunteers received 90 painful stimuli in control, distraction (mental arithmetic), and anticipation (visual cue) conditions. Anticipation did not modulate pain (p = .7), while distraction decreased pain significantly (p < .001). Moreover, pupil diameter increased 500-1000 ms post-stimulus in the control condition (p < .05), but this response was abolished by distraction. Distraction also decreased pain-related brain activity (high-gamma oscillations) (p = .004), but not the NFR (p = .3). These results suggest that pain inhibition by distraction is produced, in part, by supraspinal inhibition of nociceptive processes.},
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Laurence Chouinard-Gaouette; Isabelle Blanchette
Do emotionally negative events impair working memory as a result of intrusive thoughts? Article de journal
Dans: Memory, vol. 33, no 4, p. 390–403, 2025, ISSN: 1464-0686.
@article{pmid39915282,
title = {Do emotionally negative events impair working memory as a result of intrusive thoughts?},
author = {Laurence Chouinard-Gaouette and Isabelle Blanchette},
doi = {10.1080/09658211.2025.2461153},
issn = {1464-0686},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-04-01},
journal = {Memory},
volume = {33},
number = {4},
pages = {390--403},
abstract = {Individuals exposed to highly stressful negative events show alterations in working memory (WM) function. The correlational nature of these studies makes it impossible to determine whether exposure to negative events itself decreases WM. Such events elicit intrusive thoughts which may cause interference in WM. The main objective of this study was to verify the causal impact of a recent negative event on WM, and to examine the role of intrusive thoughts. One hundred and twenty participants completed a WM task (-Back). Then, 90 of these participants watched an emotionally negative video and 30 watched a neutral video. The emotional impact of the video was assessed, and the frequency of intrusive thoughts were measured. WM was measured a second time (-Back) while recording EEG (P300). Contrary to our hypothesis, the negative video did not impair behavioural WM performance compared to the neutral video. However, it disrupted WM neurocognitive processes (lower P300 amplitude) under low WM load. In the high load condition, greater emotional reaction was linked to poorer accuracy and more intrusive thoughts, which in turn slowed response times. Our results suggest that the impact of negative emotions on WM depends on both individual sensitivity and cognitive load.},
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Isabelle Blanchette; Blaise Balume Bakulikira; Marie-Chantal Ingabire; Eric Kankunda Moket; Serge Caparos
Measuring working memory in contexts of high adversity: Using the digit span in North Kivu Article de journal
Dans: Afr J Psychol Assess, vol. 7, p. 177, 2025, ISSN: 2617-2798.
@article{pmid41070233,
title = {Measuring working memory in contexts of high adversity: Using the digit span in North Kivu},
author = {Isabelle Blanchette and Blaise Balume Bakulikira and Marie-Chantal Ingabire and Eric Kankunda Moket and Serge Caparos},
doi = {10.4102/ajopa.v7i0.177},
issn = {2617-2798},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
journal = {Afr J Psychol Assess},
volume = {7},
pages = {177},
abstract = {Having good measures of executive functions in general and of working memory (WM) in particular is very important, as these cognitive functions are associated with numerous consequential outcomes. Because few studies have examined WM in underprivileged populations exposed to high levels of adversity, including chronic armed conflicts and frequent natural disasters, the relevance of WM assessments in this context is still unknown. Our general objective was to examine the usefulness and usability of simple digit span measures of WM in contexts of high adversity, in North Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, specifically by investigating links with formal schooling and other cognitive measures, as well as test-retest reliability. We conducted two studies. The first study included 97 internally displaced participants recently exposed to an upsurge in armed conflicts. In the second study, 281 participants were tested shortly after the eruption of the Nyaragongo volcano, and 115 of them were tested again 8 weeks after. We used the forward digit span, backward digit span and instruments measuring functional impairments and everyday cognitive skills. Performance on the digit span was associated with the level of schooling as well as everyday mathematical problem-solving and self-reported functional cognitive impairments. The results also showed a relatively strong stability of the forward digit span scores over an 8-week period.nnCONTRIBUTION: Results of these studies support the usefulness of a simple digit span measure to study one important aspect of executive function in contexts of high adversity.},
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Marie C Ingabire; Serge Caparos; Eugène Rutembesa; Isabelle Blanchette
Mothers’ psychopathology and their adult offspring’s cortisol level in a Rwandan sample Article de journal
Dans: S Afr J Psychiatr, vol. 31, p. 2410, 2025, ISSN: 1608-9685.
@article{pmid40469810,
title = {Mothers' psychopathology and their adult offspring's cortisol level in a Rwandan sample},
author = {Marie C Ingabire and Serge Caparos and Eugène Rutembesa and Isabelle Blanchette},
doi = {10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v31i0.2410},
issn = {1608-9685},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
journal = {S Afr J Psychiatr},
volume = {31},
pages = {2410},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Most studies on the influence of mothers' trauma-related psychopathology on their offspring's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning have been conducted in Western contexts. Furthermore, those studies have focused on the association between mothers' post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their offspring's HPA axis functioning. More research is needed among African populations exposed to mass violence to mitigate the intergenerational transmission of trauma.nnAIM: To investigate the link between mothers' PTSD and depression and their offspring's basal cortisol level.nnSETTING: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two provinces of Rwanda (Kigali City and the Southern Province) among families of survivors of the 1994 genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi.nnMETHODS: A total of 45 dyads of mothers and their adult offspring were recruited. They answered questionnaires that measured sociodemographic characteristics, trauma exposure, PTSD and depression symptoms. Participants also provided saliva samples for cortisol extraction.nnRESULTS: Mothers' depression was negatively associated with their offspring's overall basal cortisol level. There was no link between mothers' PTSD and their offspring's overall basal cortisol level. The relationship between the offspring's overall basal cortisol level and their own psychopathology was not significant.nnCONCLUSION: These preliminary findings showed an HPA axis disruption among offspring of mass violence-exposed and depressed mothers.nnCONTRIBUTION: This study contributes to the literature by showing that depression is a relevant correlate of neuroendocrine functioning and should be investigated more consistently in research on the intergenerational consequences of trauma exposure.},
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Anna Blumenthal; Serge Caparos; Isabelle Blanchette
Understanding the structure of autobiographical memories: A study of trauma memories from the 1994 Rwandan genocide Article de journal
Dans: Mem Cognit, vol. 52, no 7, p. 1597–1608, 2024, ISSN: 1532-5946.
@article{pmid38693323,
title = {Understanding the structure of autobiographical memories: A study of trauma memories from the 1994 Rwandan genocide},
author = {Anna Blumenthal and Serge Caparos and Isabelle Blanchette},
doi = {10.3758/s13421-024-01565-0},
issn = {1532-5946},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-10-01},
journal = {Mem Cognit},
volume = {52},
number = {7},
pages = {1597--1608},
abstract = {How do we remember traumatic events, and are these memories different in individuals who experience post-traumatic stress? Some evidence suggests that traumatic events are mnemonically enhanced, or include more episodic detail, relative to other types of memories. Simultaneously, individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have more non-episodic details in all of their memories, a pattern hypothesized to result from impairment in executive function. Here, we explore these questions in a unique population that experienced severely traumatic events more than 20 years ago - individuals who lived through the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Participants recalled events from the genocide, negative events unrelated to the genocide, neutral events, and positive events. We used the Autobiographical Interview method to label memory details as episodic or non-episodic. We found that memories from the genocide showed robust mnemonic enhancement, with more episodic than non-episodic details, and contained more details overall than any other memory type. This pattern was not impacted by post-traumatic stress. Overall, this study provides evidence that traumatic events create vivid long-lasting episodic memories, in this case even more than 20 years later.},
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François Thiffault; Justine Cinq-Mars; Benoît Brisson; Isabelle Blanchette
Hearing fearful prosody impairs visual working memory maintenance Article de journal
Dans: Int J Psychophysiol, vol. 199, p. 112338, 2024, ISSN: 1872-7697.
@article{pmid38552908,
title = {Hearing fearful prosody impairs visual working memory maintenance},
author = {François Thiffault and Justine Cinq-Mars and Benoît Brisson and Isabelle Blanchette},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112338},
issn = {1872-7697},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-05-01},
journal = {Int J Psychophysiol},
volume = {199},
pages = {112338},
abstract = {Interference by distractors has been associated multiple times with diminished visual and auditory working memory (WM) performance. Negative emotional distractors in particular lead to detrimental effects on WM. However, these associations have only been seen when distractors and items to maintain in WM are from the same sensory modality. In this study, we investigate cross-modal interference on WM. We invited 20 participants to complete a visual change-detection task, assessing visual WM (VWM), while hearing emotional (fearful) and neutral auditory distractors. Electrophysiological activity was recorded to measure contralateral delay activity (CDA) and auditory P2 event-related potentials (ERP), indexing WM maintenance and distractor salience respectively. At the behavioral level, fearful prosody didn't decrease significantly working memory accuracy, compared to neutral prosody. Regarding ERPs, fearful distractors evoked a greater P2 amplitude than neutral distractors. Correlations between the two ERP potentials indicated that P2 amplitude difference between the two types of prosody was associated with the difference in CDA amplitude for fearful and neutral trials. This association suggests that cognitive resources required to process fearful prosody detrimentally impact VWM maintenance. That result provides a piece of additional evidence that negative emotional stimuli produce greater interference than neutral stimuli and that the cognitive resources used to process stimuli from different modalities come from a common pool.},
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Laurence Chouinard-Gaouette; Isabelle Blanchette
An investigation of the mechanisms underlying the link between abstract reasoning and intrusive memories: A trauma analogue study Article de journal
Dans: Conscious Cogn, vol. 117, p. 103609, 2024, ISSN: 1090-2376.
@article{pmid38029701,
title = {An investigation of the mechanisms underlying the link between abstract reasoning and intrusive memories: A trauma analogue study},
author = {Laurence Chouinard-Gaouette and Isabelle Blanchette},
doi = {10.1016/j.concog.2023.103609},
issn = {1090-2376},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
journal = {Conscious Cogn},
volume = {117},
pages = {103609},
abstract = {Potentially traumatic events elicit intrusive memories to which some individuals are more vulnerable than others. Lower abstract reasoning capacity has been related to more intrusive memories. A more perceptual processing style when encoding the event may mediate this link. Another potential mechanism is lower attentional control, resulting in greater attentional bias toward trauma-related content. We examined both of these possibilities using a trauma-analogue paradigm. One hundred and twenty participants completed abstract reasoning tasks. Then, 90 participants watched a negative video, and 30 participants watched a neutral video. The level of perceptual processing (P1) and attentional bias (RT) towards trauma-related stimuli were measured with a pictorial Stroop task while recording EEG. Intrusive memories were recorded for 5 days. Abstract reasoning was not associated with intrusive memories. However, lower abstract reasoning tended to be associated with more perceptual processing (greater P1 amplitude) following the negative video. More perceptual processing also tended to be related to more intrusive memories for younger participants. A more pronounced attentional bias was related to more intrusive memories, but only for women. Unexpectedly, also for women, better verbal reasoning was linked to a more pronounced attentional bias. Results are compared to existing studies and future implications are discussed.},
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Alice Wagenaar-Tison; Zoha Deldar; Stéphane Northon; Benoit Brisson; Isabelle Blanchette; Mathieu Piché
Disruption of working memory and contralateral delay activity by nociceptive stimuli is modulated by task demands Article de journal
Dans: Pain, vol. 163, no 7, p. 1335–1345, 2022, ISSN: 1872-6623.
@article{pmid34654779,
title = {Disruption of working memory and contralateral delay activity by nociceptive stimuli is modulated by task demands},
author = {Alice Wagenaar-Tison and Zoha Deldar and Stéphane Northon and Benoit Brisson and Isabelle Blanchette and Mathieu Piché},
doi = {10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002517},
issn = {1872-6623},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-07-01},
journal = {Pain},
volume = {163},
number = {7},
pages = {1335--1345},
abstract = {Top-down processes allow the selection and prioritization of information by limiting attentional capture by distractors, and these mechanisms depend on task demands such as working memory (WM) load. However, bottom-up processes give salient stimuli a stronger neuronal representation and provoke attentional capture. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of salient nociceptive stimuli on WM while manipulating task demands. Twenty-one healthy participants performed a change detection task during which they had to determine whether 2 successive visual arrays were different or the same. Task demands were modulated by manipulating the WM load (set size included 2 or 4 objects to recall) and by the correspondence between the 2 successive visual arrays (change vs no change). Innocuous stimuli (control) or nociceptive stimuli (distractors) were delivered during the delay period between the 2 visual arrays. Contralateral delay activity and laser-evoked potentials were recorded to examine neural markers of visual WM and nociceptive processes. Nociceptive stimuli decreased WM performance depending on task demands (all P < 0.05). Moreover, compared with control stimuli, nociceptive stimuli abolished the increase in contralateral delay activity amplitude for set size 4 vs set size 2 (P = 0.04). Consistent with these results, laser-evoked potential amplitude was not decreased when task demands were high (P = 0.5). These findings indicate that WM may shield cognition from nociceptive stimuli, but nociceptive stimuli disrupt WM and alter task performance when cognitive resources become insufficient to process all task-relevant information.},
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Erik Gustafsson; Coralie Francoeur; Isabelle Blanchette; Sylvain Sirois
Visual exploration in adults: Habituation, mere exposure, or optimal level of arousal? Article de journal
Dans: Learn Behav, vol. 50, no 2, p. 233–241, 2022, ISSN: 1543-4508.
@article{pmid34545534,
title = {Visual exploration in adults: Habituation, mere exposure, or optimal level of arousal?},
author = {Erik Gustafsson and Coralie Francoeur and Isabelle Blanchette and Sylvain Sirois},
doi = {10.3758/s13420-021-00484-3},
issn = {1543-4508},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-06-01},
journal = {Learn Behav},
volume = {50},
number = {2},
pages = {233--241},
abstract = {Exploration is one of the most powerful behaviours that drive learning from infancy to adulthood. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of novelty and subjective preference in visual exploration. To do this, we combined a visual exploration task with a subjective evaluation task, presenting novel and familiar pictures. The first goal was to ascertain whether, as demonstrated in babies, short habituation favors visual exploration of familiarity, whereas longer habituation leads to an exploration of novelty. The second goal was to evaluate the influence of familiarization on participants' subjective evaluation of the stimuli. When presented with novel and very familiar stimuli, participants explored the novel stimuli more. In line with the optimal-level of arousal model, participants showed more positive evaluations of the semi-familiar stimuli compared with very familiar or very novel ones.},
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Justine Cinq-Mars; Anna Blumenthal; Alessa Grund; Sébastien Hétu; Isabelle Blanchette
DLPFC controls the rapid neural response to visual threat: An ERP and rTMS study Article de journal
Dans: Brain Res, vol. 1784, p. 147850, 2022, ISSN: 1872-6240.
@article{pmid35231420,
title = {DLPFC controls the rapid neural response to visual threat: An ERP and rTMS study},
author = {Justine Cinq-Mars and Anna Blumenthal and Alessa Grund and Sébastien Hétu and Isabelle Blanchette},
doi = {10.1016/j.brainres.2022.147850},
issn = {1872-6240},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-06-01},
journal = {Brain Res},
volume = {1784},
pages = {147850},
abstract = {Individuals are faster at detecting threatening stimuli than neutral stimuli. While generally considered a rapid bottom-up response, this threat superiority effect is also modulated by top-down mechanisms known to rely on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). What remains unclear is whether the response is modulated only at later stages of processing, or whether rapid attention to threat itself is controlled in a top-down manner. To test this, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to inhibit activity in the DLPFC, and measured EEG to index the immediate neural response to threat. Twenty participants attended two sessions where they performed a visual search task with threatening or neutral targets. Prior to this, they received 15 min of 1 Hz inhibitory or sham rTMS targeting the right DLPFC. We measured the impact of rTMS on the P1, a rapid visually-evoked potential that is modulated by attention. We found that threatening targets increased the amplitude of the P1 in the sham condition, but inhibition of the DLPFC abolished this increase. These results suggest that the neural signature of rapid attentional detection of threat, even at its earliest stage, is influenced in a top-down fashion by the right DLPFC.},
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