Johannes Frasnelli, M.D., Priv.-Doz.
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Regular Professor Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Holder of the Chimiosensorial Neuroanatomy Chair 514-338-2222 extension 7733 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Education: Post-doctorate in Neuropsychology (Université de Montréal) Post-doctorate in Cognitive Neurosciences (Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University) Priv.-Doz. Technical University of Dresden, Germany M.D. University of Vienna, Austria
Research Interests: Physiology, psychology and pathology of the chemical senses (smell, taste, etc)
Methodologies: Psychophysics, functional and structural neuro-imaging (magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography), electrophysiology (evoke potentials, electro-olfactogram).
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Academic Link:
https://oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca/pls/public/genw050.afficher_fiche_perso?owa_cd_secteur=2900&owa_cd_fonction=46&owa_no_personne=675365&owa_contexte=$1313-73
Lab Link:
http://johannesfrasnelli.com/
Chosen Publications:
Frasnelli J, Laguë-Beauvais M, LeBlanc J, Alturki AY, Champoux MC, Couturier C, Anderson K, Lamoureux J, Marcoux J, Tinawi S, Dagher J, Maleki M, Feyz M, de Guise E. Olfactory function in acute traumatic brain injury. Clin Neurolog Neurosurgery 2016, 140: 68-72
Frasnelli J, Fark T, Lehmann J, Hummel T. Brain structure is changed in congenital anosmia. NeuroImage 2013, 83:1074-80
Rahayel S, Frasnelli J, Joubert S. The effect of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease on olfaction: a meta-analysis. Behav Brain Res 2012, 231(1):60-74
Frasnelli J, Albrecht A, Bryant B, Lundstrom JN. Perception of specific trigeminal chemosensory agonists. Neuroscience 2011, 25(189)377-83
Frasnelli J, Lundström JN, Boyle JA, Katsarkas A, Jones-Gotman M. The vomeronasal organ is not involved in the perception of endogenous odors. Hum Brain Mapp 2011, 32(3) :450–460
Research
Olfactory function as a measure of brain organization
Physiological, pathological and environmental factors continuously shape the human brain. In fact, the nervous system reorganizes its structure, functions and connections as a response to stimuli from outside or within the brain, a mechanism called neuroplasticity. Some diseases lead to the decline of nervous tissue volume or quality (neurodegeneration); on the other hand the nervous system possesses the ability to restore its function following damage (neural regeneration). We know that olfaction is closely associated with functional and structural characteristics of several brain regions. As a consequence, olfactory performance gets worse with neurodegeneration and better with neural regeneration. We therefore aim to examine the extent of which measuring olfactory performance provides information on neuronal plasticity and resulting changes to brain structure. More specifically, we are investigating the link between olfactory function, cognitive performance, structural brain changes and outcome in three specific medical conditions. In this context, (1) Mild Cognitive Impairment serves as models for neurodegeneration, whereas we study (2) Traumatic Brain Injury in order to understand spontaneous neuronal regeneration. Finally, we are investigating patients with (3) acquired olfactory dysfunction in whom we will induce neuronal regeneration.
The studies proposed in this research program are innovative on several levels as they will help us to understand regeneration and degeneration in the brain, to comprehend how certain diseases affect the brain, and to develop convenient tools for screening and prognostics in several medical conditions.
Team
Lab members :
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Simona Manescu, B.Sc. Ph.D. candidate in Psychology R/I, Université de Montréal Co-direction with Dr Franco Lepore Olfactory plasticity in blind individuals
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Fanny Lécuyer Giguère, B.Sc. Ph.D. candidate in Neuropsychology R/I, Université de Montréal Co-direction with Dre Élaine de Guise The sense of smell in acute mild traumatic brain injury
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Rayane Zahal , B.Sc. Ph.D. candidate in Neuropsychology R/I, Université de Montréal Co-direction with Dr Sven Jourbert, Ph.D. Neurodegeneration and olfaction: Towards an early diagnosis
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Ibtissem Medjboud, B.Sc. Master student in psychology, Université de Montréal Links between the anxiety level and trigeminal sensibility
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Publications
Frasnelli J, Laguë-Beauvais M, LeBlanc J, Alturki AY, Champoux MC, Couturier C, Anderson K, Lamoureux J, Marcoux J, Tinawi S, Dagher J, Maleki M, Feyz M, de Guise E. Olfactory function in acute traumatic brain injury. Clin Neurolog Neurosurgery 2016, 140: 68-72
de Guise E, Alturki AY, Laguë-Beauvais M, LeBlanc J, Champoux MC, Couturier C, Anderson K, Lamoureux J, Marcoux J, Maleki M, Feyz M, Frasnelli J. Olfactory and executive dysfunctions following orbito-basal lesions in traumatic brain injury. Brain Inj 2015, 29(6), 730-738.
Frasnelli J, Albrecht A, Bryant B, Lundstrom JN. Perception of specific trigeminal chemosensory agonists. Neuroscience 2011, 25(189)377-83
Hummel T, Olgun S, Gerber J, Huchel U, Frasnelli J. Brain responses to odor mixtures with sub-threshold components. Front Psychol 2013, 4, 786.
Manescu S, Frasnelli J, Lepore F, Djordjevic J. Now you like me now you don’t: Impact of labels on odor perception. Chem Senses 2014, 39, 167-175.
Frasnelli J, Fark T, Lehmann J, Hummel T. Brain structure is changed in congenital anosmia. NeuroImage 2013, 83:1074-80
Frasnelli J, Lundstrom JN, Schopf V, Negoias S, Hummel T, Lepore F. Dual processing streams in chemosensory perception. Frontiers Hum Neurosci 2012, 6, 288.
La Buissonnière-Ariza V, Kojok KM, Lepore F, Frasnelli J. Increased odor detection speed in highly anxious healthy adults. Chem Senses 2013, 38(7), 577-584.
Galle SA, Courchesne V, Mottron L, Frasnelli J. Olfaction in the autism spectrum. Perception 2013, 42, 341-355.
Keita L, Frasnelli J, La Buissonnière-Ariza V, Lepore F. Response times and response accuracy for odor localization and identification. Neurosci 2013, 238, 82-86.
Rahayel S, Frasnelli J, Joubert S. The effect of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease on olfaction: a meta-analysis. Behav Brain Res 2012, 231(1):60-74.
Charland-Verville V, Lassonde M, Frasnelli J. Olfaction in athletes with concussion. Am J Rhinol 2012, 26(3), 222-226.
Lundstrom JN, Gordon AR, Wise P, Frasnelli J. Individual differences in the chemical senses: is there a common sensitivity? Chem Senses 2012, 37(4), 371-378.