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Natural Sciences and Engineering; Arts and Music; Health Sciences; Humanities

Laboratoire international de recherche sur le Cerveau, la Musique et le Son

Centre institutionnel Faculté des arts et des sciences
Département de psychologie
Secondary number: 514 343-6111 #3167 (Information)
Secondary email: info@brams.umontreal.ca (Autre courriel)

Media

Les activités du BRAMS

Profile

About us

BRAMS is a unique centre dedicated to research excellence in the study of music and auditory cognition with a focus on neuroscience. The research centre is located in Montreal and jointly affiliated with the University of Montreal and McGill University.

The idea of BRAMS began in August 2003 from the dream of Isabelle Peretz, joined by several Montreal scientists, to create a research centre that would unite their complementary expertise and long-held interest in music cognition. BRAMS was officially launched in 2005 by co-directors Isabelle Peretz (Professor of Psychology at University of Montreal) and Robert Zatorre (Professor at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University). The laboratory quickly became a centre of excellence in the study of the biological foundations of music, as hailed by Science in February 2007. BRAMS has one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated technological platforms in the world, thanks to funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in 2007 of more than $14 million. Since April 2011, BRAMS is part of the CRBLM (Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music) strategic cluster.

In 2018, Isabelle Peretz decided to pass the torch of co-directorship to ensure a bright and long future for BRAMS. The BRAMS facilities were moved to the nearby Pavilion Marie Victorin at the University of Montreal, and Simone Dalla Bella, recruited from University of Montpellier (France), took over as co-director of BRAMS.

The BRAMS technological platform and facilities are primarily located at the University of Montreal (90 Ave. Vincent-d’Indy, Outremont) and include five soundproof testing rooms, an fNIRS System (functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy), a TMS System (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation), five EEG systems (Electroencephalography), a Dome with 80 speakers, and a Motion Capture Lab. A Bösendorfer piano, unique in North America, is currently located at the University of Montreal’s Laval Campus. Moreover, state-of-the-art facilities for brain imaging and stimulation are available at the Montreal Neurological Institute.

Our interests

The main interests of BRAMS include answering the following questions: Why is the brain musical? How does the structure and function of the nervous system allow us to remember, play, listen and respond to music? How are these functions related to other cognitive domains such as language? How do these functions change during development, and how do they breakdown in disease? How can music be exploited for rehabilitation or re-learning of impaired functions in patient populations?

Today, BRAMS is home to more than 70 internationally renowned faculty members, from four Montreal Universities and from abroad, dedicated to music and auditory cognitive neuroscience. Twelve of them currently hold a Canada Research Chair: Miriam Beauchamp, Jonathan Bolduc, Simone Falk, Karim Jerbi, Pierre Jolicoeur, Caroline Palmer, Isabelle Peretz, Mathieu Roy, Debra Titone, Robert Zatorre, Benjamin Zendel and Simone Dalla Bella. Robert Zatorre and Marc Pell hold a James McGill Research Chair. Isabelle Peretz and Simone Dalla Bella hold a Casavant Chair in neuropsychology and music cognition. Such a concentration of experts in the neuroscience of music and auditory cognition is unique in North America. BRAMS members’ research covers the spectrum from perception of music, speech, and voice to memory and motor performance, with a common interest in the neural substrates of human auditory cognition and music in particular. Between 100 and 150 trainees per year have access to BRAMS technological platform for research.

Affiliations

Research units

  • Centre de Recherche sur le Cerveau, le Langage et la Musique
  • Plateforme du Laboratoire international de recherche sur le cerveau, la musique et le son

Universities

  • Université Concordia/Concordia University
  • Université McGill/McGill University

Partner organizations

  • Fondation canadienne pour l'innovation (FCI)/Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)
  • Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature et technologies
  • MITACS
  • CRBLM
  • Université de Montréal
  • McGill University

Addresses

Location on the University campus

Marie-Victorin, room A-108/ 90 Vince

Team

Directors

At Université de Montreal

External

Members

At Université de Montreal

Isabelle Peretz (Membre régulier)
Sylvie Hébert (Membre régulier)
Pierre Jolicoeur (Membre régulier)
Phaedra Royle (Membre régulier)
Nathalie Fernando (Membre associé)
Miriam Beauchamp (Membre associé)
Daniel Valois (Membre associé)
Sarah Lippé (Membre associé)
Mickaël Begon (Membre régulier)
Marc Schoenwiesner (Membre régulier)
Simona Maria Brambati (Membre associé)
Caroline Traube (Membre régulier)
Douglas Shiller (Membre associé)
Karim Jerbi (Membre régulier)
Ingrid Verduyckt (Membre associé)
Nathalie Gosselin (Membre régulier)
Krista Leigh Hyde (In memoriam) (Membre régulier)
Bruno Gauthier (Membre associé)
Gregory West (Membre associé)
Annelies Bockstael (Membre régulier)
Simone Falk (Membre régulier)

External

Virginia Penhune (Membre régulier)
Marcelo Wanderley (Membre régulier)
Caroline Palmer (Membre régulier)
Jorge L. Armony (Membre régulier)

Support staff

  • Bernard Bouchard - Responsable du support informatique
  • Johanne David - Agente administrative
  • Pauline Tranchant - Responsable des communications

Expertise

Projects and funding

Publications and presentations

Publications

Disciplines

  • Neurosciences
  • Neurology
  • Music
  • Psychology

Areas of expertise

  • Cognition
  • Cognition and Language
  • Cognitive Development
  • Cognitive Development in Children
  • Imagery (Language and Cognitive Processes)
  • Neuronal Communication and Neurotransmission
  • Growth Factors (Neurosciences)
  • Neuronal Modeling
  • Plasticity / Neuronal Regeneration
  • Cell Signaling (Neurosciences)
  • Neuronal Systems
  • Language Acquisition and Development
  • Language Acquisition, Understanding and Production Mechanisms
  • Sensation and Perception
  • Locomotor Activity / Movement Disorders
  • Auditory System
  • Hearing Disorders
  • Nervous System Development
  • Autonomic Nervous System