LANGUAGE – AMONG THE LAB’S TOPICS OF PREDILECTION

-

The study by Andréanne René, “Prenatal linguistic exposure shapes language brain responses at birth”, published in August 2025 in Communications Biology, explores how prenatal exposure to a foreign language influences newborns’ brain responses. This study was conducted with Laura Caron-Desrochers as co-first author.

The research has received wide media coverage, including:

• La Presse Canadienne / Le Soleil : Un fœtus peut se familiariser avec une langue étrangère dans le ventre de sa mère
• Scientific American : Babies’ brains recognize foreign languages they heard before birth
• UdeM Nouvelles : Un fœtus peut apprendre une langue avant même de naître

A big congratulations to Andréanne and Laura for this outstanding contribution to neurodevelopmental research.

-

A big congratulations to Sarah Kessouri and Noémie Racine, who participated in the RBC Race for Kids alongside the CIRENE team (Integrated Center for Child Neurodevelopment Network) and the Neurocardiac Investigation Clinic at CHU Sainte-Justine. The team successfully raised over $9,000 during the event! These funds will go directly to the CINC funds, supporting projects and care for our young patients. Thank you to all participants for their dedication and generosity.

-

Elisa Gaillard presented her work at the annual Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative (CNOC)conference, held in Colorado. Her presentation, entitled “Exploring the link between executive functioning and fine motor skills in children with congenital heart disease”, focused on the relationship between executive functions and fine motor skills in children with congenital heart disease. Congratulations to Elisa for this valuable contribution to neurodevelopmental research.

-

Congratulations to Kassandra Roger on successfully defending her PhD thesis

Thesis title: Effects of Early Childhood Malnutrition on Adult Brain Function: A Multimodal NIRS-EEG Study. We are proud to announce that her thesis was rated Excellent and recommended for the Rector’s Honour List. Congratulations Kassandra on this outstanding achievement.