Julien Doyon, PhD
“I accepted the job because the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre is known worldwide for its imaging work,” says Julien Doyon, who completed his doctoral studies here in 1988 under the supervision of renowned neuroscientist Brenda Milner
Julien Doyon, PhD, is the Director of the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre. He has held several leadership roles related to neuroimaging, including most recently as Scientific Director of the Unité de Neuroimagerie Fonctionnelle at the Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Director of the Quebec Bio-Imaging Network, and codirector of the Laboratoire international de neuroimagerie et modélisation, INSERM‐ Université de Montréal.
Julien received his BA and his Masters in Psychology at Université Laval, and his PhD in psychology in 1988 at McGill University, where Brenda Milner supervised his doctoral thesis. Following training, he built a very successful scientific career in cognitive neuroscience.
Research in his laboratory uses a combination of imaging techniques, and studies in healthy older subjects and neurological populations, to investigate the changes in neural networks associated with the acquisition of motor skills, and the role of sleep in the consolidation and reconsolidation of such motor abilities. His research interests also include the identification of biomarkers useful for the early diagnosis and assessment of interventions designed to help patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Julien has received a number of prizes and awards in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of knowledge and leadership in the field of cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging. He received the 2011 Canadian Society for Brain Behavior & Cognitive Sciences (CSBBCS) – Richard C. Tess Award and was named a Fellow of this society in 2017. In 2012, he was awarded the ACFAS ‐ Léo Pariseau prize highlighting the excellence and international impact of his work, and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in September 2017.
Dumel, G., Bourassa, M. E., Charlebois-Plante, C., Desjardins, M., Doyon, J., Saint-Amour, D., & De Beaumont, L. (2017). Multisession anodal transcranial direct current stimulation induces motor cortex plasticity enhancement and motor learning generalization in an aging population. Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, S1388-2457(17)31151-3 Link to item
Fogel, S., Albouy, G., King, B. R., Lungu, O., Vien, C., Bore, A., . . . Doyon, J. (2017). Reactivation or transformation? motor memory consolidation associated with cerebral activation time-locked to sleep spindles. PloS One, 12(4), e0174755. 10.1371/journal.pone.0174755 Link to item
Fogel, S., Vien, C., Karni, A., Benali, H., Carrier, J., & Doyon, J. (2017). Sleep spindles: A physiological marker of age-related changes in gray matter in brain regions supporting motor skill memory consolidation. Neurobiology of Aging, 49, 154-164. S0197-4580(16)30249-4 Link to item
Gabitov, E., Boutin, A., Pinsard, B., Censor, N., Fogel, S. M., Albouy, G., . . . Doyon, J. (2017). Re-stepping into the same river: Competition problem rather than a reconsolidation failure in an established motor skill. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 9406-017-09677-1. 10.1038/s41598-017-09677-1 Link to item
Gheysen, F., Lasne, G., Pelegrini-Issac, M., Albouy, G., Meunier, S., Benali, H., . . . Popa, T. (2017). Taking the brakes off the learning curve. Human Brain Mapping, 38(3), 1676-1691. 10.1002/hbm.23489 Link to item
King, B. R., Saucier, P., Albouy, G., Fogel, S. M., Rumpf, J. J., Klann, J., . . . Doyon, J. (2017). Cerebral activation during initial motor learning forecasts subsequent sleep-facilitated memory consolidation in older adults. Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y.: 1991), 27(2), 1588-1601. 10.1093/cercor/bhv347 Link to item
Maier-Hein, K. H., Neher, P. F., Houde, J. C., Cote, M. A., Garyfallidis, E., Zhong, J., . . . Descoteaux, M. (2017). The challenge of mapping the human connectome based on diffusion tractography. Nature Communications, 8(1), 1349-017-01285-x. 10.1038/s41467-017-01285-x Link to item
Nadeau, A., Lungu, O., Duchesne, C., Robillard, M. E., Bore, A., Bobeuf, F., . . . Doyon, J. (2017). A 12-week cycling training regimen improves gait and executive functions concomitantly in people with parkinson's disease. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, 690. 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00690 Link to item
Rumpf, J. J., Wegscheider, M., Hinselmann, K., Fricke, C., King, B. R., Weise, D., . . . Classen, J. (2017). Enhancement of motor consolidation by post-training transcranial direct current stimulation in older people. Neurobiology of Aging, 49, 1-8. S0197-4580(16)30209-3 Link to item
Vahdat, S., Albouy, G., King, B., Lungu, O., & Doyon, J. (2017). Editorial: Online and offline modulators of motor learning. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11, 69. 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00069 Link to item
Vahdat, S., Fogel, S., Benali, H., & Doyon, J. (2017). Network-wide reorganization of procedural memory during NREM sleep revealed by fMRI. Elife, 6, 10.7554/eLife.24987. 10.7554/eLife.24987 Link to item
Duchesne, C., Gheysen, F., Bore, A., Albouy, G., Nadeau, A., Robillard, M. E., . . . Doyon, J. (2016). Influence of aerobic exercise training on the neural correlates of motor learning in parkinson's disease individuals. NeuroImage.Clinical, 12, 559-569. 10.1016/j.nicl.2016.09.011 Link to item
Dumel, G., Bourassa, M. E., Desjardins, M., Voarino, N., Charlebois-Plante, C., Doyon, J., & De Beaumont, L. (2016). Multisession anodal tDCS protocol improves motor system function in an aging population. Neural Plasticity, 2016, 5961362. 10.1155/2016/5961362 Link to item
Laventure, S., Fogel, S., Lungu, O., Albouy, G., Sevigny-Dupont, P., Vien, C., . . . Doyon, J. (2016). NREM2 and sleep spindles are instrumental to the consolidation of motor sequence memories. PLoS Biology, 14(3), e1002429. 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002429 Link to item
Saimpont, A., Mercier, C., Malouin, F., Guillot, A., Collet, C., Doyon, J., & Jackson, P. L. (2016). Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation enhances the effects of motor imagery training in a finger tapping task. The European Journal of Neuroscience, 43(1), 113-119. 10.1111/ejn.13122 Link to item
Tremblay, S., Lafleur, L. P., Proulx, S., Beaule, V., Latulipe-Loiselle, A., Doyon, J., . . . Theoret, H. (2016). The effects of bi-hemispheric M1-M1 transcranial direct current stimulation on primary motor cortex neurophysiology and metabolite concentration. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 34(4), 587-602. 10.3233/RNN-150569 Link to item
Vien, C., Bore, A., Lungu, O., Benali, H., Carrier, J., Fogel, S., & Doyon, J. (2016). Age-related white-matter correlates of motor sequence learning and consolidation. Neurobiology of Aging, 48, 13-22. S0197-4580(16)30174-9 Link to item
Duchesne, C., Lungu, O., Nadeau, A., Robillard, M. E., Bore, A., Bobeuf, F., . . . Doyon, J. (2015). Enhancing both motor and cognitive functioning in parkinson's disease: Aerobic exercise as a rehabilitative intervention. Brain and Cognition, 99, 68-77. 10.1016/j.bandc.2015.07.005 Link to item
Duncan, N. W., Hayes, D. J., Wiebking, C., Tiret, B., Pietruska, K., Chen, D. Q., . . . Northoff, G. (2015). Negative childhood experiences alter a prefrontal-insular-motor cortical network in healthy adults: A preliminary multimodal rsfMRI-fMRI-MRS-dMRI study. Human Brain Mapping, 36(11), 4622-4637. 10.1002/hbm.22941 Link to item
Gallea, C., Balas, M., Bertasi, E., Valabregue, R., Garcia-Lorenzo, D., Coynel, D., . . . Lehericy, S. (2015). Increased cortico-striatal connectivity during motor practice contributes to the consolidation of motor memory in writer's cramp patients. NeuroImage.Clinical, 8, 180-192. 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.04.013 Link to item
Orban, P., Doyon, J., Petrides, M., Mennes, M., Hoge, R., & Bellec, P. (2015). The richness of task-evoked hemodynamic responses defines a pseudohierarchy of functionally meaningful brain networks. Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y.: 1991), 25(9), 2658-2669. 10.1093/cercor/bhu064 Link to item
Ray, L. B., Sockeel, S., Soon, M., Bore, A., Myhr, A., Stojanoski, B., . . . Fogel, S. M. (2015). Expert and crowd-sourced validation of an individualized sleep spindle detection method employing complex demodulation and individualized normalization. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 507. 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00507 Link to item
Samson, F., Zeffiro, T. A., Doyon, J., Benali, H., & Mottron, L. (2015). Speech acquisition predicts regions of enhanced cortical response to auditory stimulation in autism spectrum individuals. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 68, 285-292. 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.05.011 Link to item
Vahdat, S., Lungu, O., Cohen-Adad, J., Marchand-Pauvert, V., Benali, H., & Doyon, J. (2015). Simultaneous brain-cervical cord fMRI reveals intrinsic spinal cord plasticity during motor sequence learning. PLoS Biology, 13(6), e1002186. 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002186 Link to item
Boutin, A., Pinsard, B., Bore, A., Carrier, J., Fogel, S. M., & Doyon, J. (2017). Transient synchronization of hippocampo-striato-thalamo-cortical networks during sleep spindle oscillations induces motor memory consolidation. Neuroimage, 169, 419-430. S1053-8119(17)31090-X Link to item
Albouy, G., King, B. R., Schmidt, C., Desseilles, M., Dang-Vu, T. T., Balteau, E., . . . Korman, M. (2016). Cerebral activity associated with transient sleep-facilitated reduction in motor memory vulnerability to interference. Scientific Reports, 6, 34948. 10.1038/srep34948 Link to item
Appleman, E. R., Albouy, G., Doyon, J., Cronin-Golomb, A., & King, B. R. (2016). Sleep quality influences subsequent motor skill acquisition. Behavioral Neuroscience, 130(3), 290-297. 10.1037/bne0000131 Link to item
Di Rienzo, F., Debarnot, U., Daligault, S., Saruco, E., Delpuech, C., Doyon, J., . . . Guillot, A. (2016). Online and offline performance gains following motor imagery practice: A comprehensive review of behavioral and neuroimaging studies. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, 315. 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00315 Link to item
Albouy, G., Fogel, S., King, B. R., Laventure, S., Benali, H., Karni, A., . . . Doyon, J. (2015). Maintaining vs. enhancing motor sequence memories: Respective roles of striatal and hippocampal systems. Neuroimage, 108, 423-434. 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.12.049 Link to item
Barbeau, E. B., Lewis, J. D., Doyon, J., Benali, H., Zeffiro, T. A., & Mottron, L. (2015). A greater involvement of posterior brain areas in interhemispheric transfer in autism: FMRI, DWI and behavioral evidences. NeuroImage.Clinical, 8, 267-280. 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.04.019 Link to item
Bellec, P., Benhajali, Y., Carbonell, F., Dansereau, C., Albouy, G., Pelland, M., . . . Orban, P. (2015). Impact of the resolution of brain parcels on connectome-wide association studies in fMRI. Neuroimage, 123, 212-228. 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.07.071 Link to item
Dan, X., King, B. R., Doyon, J., & Chan, P. (2015). Motor sequence learning and consolidation in unilateral de novo patients with parkinson's disease. PloS One, 10(7), e0134291. 10.1371/journal.pone.0134291 Link to item
Dube, J., Lafortune, M., Bedetti, C., Bouchard, M., Gagnon, J. F., Doyon, J., . . . Carrier, J. (2015). Cortical thinning explains changes in sleep slow waves during adulthood. The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 35(20), 7795-7807. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3956-14.2015 Link to item