As home to the largest number of research centres in the country, Montréal has been a hub of neurological science for nearly a century. Neuroscience is an area of local expertise, marking Montréal as one of the world’s most active metropolises when it comes to the scientific study of the human nervous system.
Leaders in learning
When it comes to education, Montréal is a leader with 36 neuroscience-related University research chairs in Québec. All four of the city’s world-class universities — McGill (ranked the 29th best institution in the world), Concordia University, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) and Université de Montréal — offer programs in neuroscience studies.
McGill’s The Brain @McGill is one of the world’s largest organizations focused on structural and functional brain imaging, while its Integrated Program in Neuroscience is the largest graduate program in the Faculty of Medicine and one of the largest neuroscience graduate programs in North America. The Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives project has been designated as a World Center of Excellence focused on accelerating international transfer of information to improve brain health across the globe.
The Montréal Neurological Institute and Hospital — known in Montréal simply as “The Neuro” — has contributed several important studies and breakthroughs to the field. Some of these include the discovery of the first neurotransmitter, Dr. Brenda Milner’s pioneering studies in neuropsychology, and Dr. Wilder Penfield’s neurosurgical intervention for epilepsy (known as the Montréal Procedure).
Artificial intelligence in neuroscience
As Montréal has the largest concentration of deep learning researchers in the world and an important neuroscience research community, the city provides an ideal research ecosystem for the development of interdisciplinary synergies between these two fields. This is the goal of Unifying Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence in Québec (UNIQUE), a research centre based in Montréal that promotes bidirectional research between scientists in neuroscience and AI, and spearheads efforts to establish a high-impact Neuro-AI research discipline.
Significant Montréal breakthroughs
December 2024 | At The Neuro’s Clinical Research Unit, a new trial is testing a drug that has the potential to change the course of myotonic dystrophy, not merely treat its symptoms.
October 2024 | A study published in October by McGill University’s Denise Klein and Xiaoqian Chai found that learning a second language at a young age leads to efficient whole-brain connectivity.
March 2024 | Researchers at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) revolutionized Parkinson’s Disease research by applying stem cell technology to create human organoids.
January 2024 | McGill University’s Dr. Abbas Sadikot led a project use of using magnetic resonance-guided ultrasound to offer life-altering treatment to patients suffering from uncontrollable tremors.
November 2023 | McGill University’s Drs. Hovy Wong and Jesper Sjöström resolved how the synapse sustains the high-frequency neurotransmission that is crucial for memory formation.
May 2021 | A team of researchers from The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) and McGill’s Department of Biomedical Engineering found a solution to foreign body response in brain transplants using silicone and sugar.
March 2021 | A group of scientists led by Bratislav Misic, a researcher at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University found associations between gene expression patterns and functional brain tasks such as memory, attention, and mood.
January 2020 | McGill University, The Neuro and Fuzionaire Diagnostics to Develop Radiopharmaceuticals for use in detection and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
December 2019 | A McGill study identified a new role of major genetic risk factor in Alzheimer’s disease, with added potential of dementia.
Notable neuroscience events held in Montréal
Here is a sampling of neuroscience-related events that have taken or will take place in Montréal:
March 2025 | 5th World Congress on Brain Injury (1,200 participants)
September 2025 | Neurocritical Care Society 2025 Annual Meeting (1,500 participants)
June 2024 | 2024 Peripheral Nerve Society Annual Meeting (1,500 participants)
October 2023 | World Congress of Neurology (4,000 participants)
June 2023 | Annual Conference of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (2,000 participants)
May 2023 | Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience (700 participants)
July 2019 | 41st Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (1,175 participants)
November 2018 | NeurIPS Annual Conference (10,000 participants)
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