Doctoral project:

My doctoral essay project focuses on the oscillatory features of visual processing in subjective cognitive decline (DCS). This project is a continuation of my thesis which focused on healthy aging. The ultimate goal of my research would be to contribute to the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's disease). The choice to study people with subjective cognitive decline stems from the fact that this may constitute the earliest stage of Alzheimer's disease in some cases. The technique used for my project is random temporal sampling which reveals the oscillatory cerebral mechanisms at play during a perceptual task (here, the recognition of 5-letter words).

 

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Master's project: My master's project focused on visual functionin healthy aging. In order to investigate the temporal features of visual processing in elderly individuals, we used the random temporal sampling technique mentioned above. Two groups (young adults – 18-35 years old and elderly people – 60-85 years old) performed a recognition task using achromatic images of familiar objects presented on a computer screen. The results take the form of classification images (CI) , which illustrate the variations in visual processing efficiency over time as well as in the time-frequency domain. For each of the domains (time and time-frequency), the ICs were decomposed according to their power and phase spectra by a Fourier analysis. The results of my thesis highlighted significant differences between the two groups, both in the time domain and time-frequency. Precisely, it is the phase spectra that differ significantly between groups. It would therefore seem that the oscillatory visual mechanisms involved in carrying out the object recognition task are different between young adults and older people. Specifically, it would be the timeline of their engagement in the task that differs.

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Academic background : 

• 2018-2021 : baccalauréat en neurosciences cognitives – Université de Montréal

• 2021-2022 : maitrise en psychologie – Université de Montréal

• 2022-2026 : doctorat en neuropsychologie clinique – Université de Montréal

Scholarships : 

• Bourse R.H. Duquette 

• Reconnaissance des efforts dans la poursuite des études

• Montant : 1500$

• Date : 2021

• Bourse coup de cœur 

• Fondation Françis et Geneviève Melançon

• Montant : 5000$

• Date : 2022

Publications and scientific communications

Dissertation :

Lévesque, M. (2022). Caractéristiques temporelles du traitement visuel dans le vieillissement sain [mémoire de maitrise, Université de Montréal]. Papyrus (en attente)

Symposium :

Charhrouchni, N*., Lévesque, M*., Côté, É., Turcotte-Ménard, V., Dorfman, A., Pelletier-Dumas, M., Lacourse, É., Lina, J.-M., Stolle, D., Taylor, D. M., & de la Sablonnière, R. · Perception du changement social dramatique selon des variables sociodémographiques : application de l’algorithme du changement social (ACS). (Mai 2021). Présentation orale,  14ejournée scientifique du département de psychologie de l’Université de Montréal.

 

Presented posters: 

 

LÉVESQUE, Mélanie, ARGUIN, Martin. (Mai 2022). Altération du profil temporel du traitement visuel avec le vieillissement. Affiche présentée lors du Congrès annuel de la Société Québécoise de la recherche en psychologie (SQRP) 

 

LÉVESQUE, Mélanie, ARGUIN, Martin. (Mai 2022). Altération du profil temporel du traitement visuel avec le vieillissement. Affiche présentée lors de la 15e journée scientifique du département de psychologie de l’Université de Montréal.

 

LÉVESQUE, Mélanie, ARGUIN, Martin. (Mai 2022). Altération du profil temporel du traitement visuel avec le vieillissement. Affiche présentée lors de la Journée scientifique du Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM).