Introduction
Dr. Lynne Racette is a distinguished scholar in the field of cognitive neuroscience, with a focus on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying decision making and executive function. Her interdisciplinary approach combines neuroimaging, computational modeling, and behavioral experiments to investigate how the brain integrates information across temporal and spatial scales. Dr. Racette’s research has implications for understanding neuropsychiatric disorders, enhancing learning and memory, and informing artificial intelligence systems that emulate human cognition.
Early Life and Education
Childhood and Secondary Education
Born in 1978 in Montreal, Canada, Lynne Racette exhibited an early aptitude for mathematics and science during her primary and secondary schooling. Her fascination with patterns and logical reasoning guided her choice of courses in physics and advanced mathematics. At the age of 17, she entered the École Polytechnique de Montréal, where she pursued a dual degree in mathematics and biology, reflecting her interest in the quantitative analysis of biological systems.
Undergraduate Studies
During her undergraduate years, Racette engaged in research projects that explored the statistical mechanics of biological networks. Her senior thesis examined the dynamical properties of neuronal firing patterns in cultured hippocampal neurons, employing both electrophysiological recording and computational simulation. The work received recognition at the Canadian Undergraduate Research Conference and set the foundation for her graduate studies.
Graduate Training
Racette earned her Master of Science in Neuroscience from McGill University in 2004, where she studied the role of dopamine in reinforcement learning. Her thesis, supervised by Dr. Pierre Tremblay, investigated dopamine-dependent modulation of synaptic plasticity in the prefrontal cortex using two-photon calcium imaging. The research contributed to a broader understanding of the neurochemical substrates of reward prediction error.
Doctoral Research
She completed her Ph.D. at Stanford University in 2009 under the guidance of Dr. Emily S. Kessler, focusing on the interaction between working memory networks and decision‑making processes. Her dissertation employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map neural correlates of cognitive flexibility in human participants. The findings were published in several high‑impact journals, including the Journal of Neuroscience and NeuroImage.
Academic Career
Postdoctoral Fellowship
From 2009 to 2012, Racette conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with Dr. Jonathan L. Cohen. The collaboration explored the effects of neuromodulators on the neural dynamics of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during complex problem‑solving tasks. She introduced a novel dynamic causal modeling framework that allowed for the dissection of effective connectivity changes under pharmacological manipulation.
Faculty Positions
In 2012, Dr. Racette joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor. Her appointment was marked by the establishment of the Cognitive Systems Laboratory, which combined neuroimaging, behavioral testing, and computational modeling. Her research focus expanded to include the neural basis of risk assessment and intertemporal choice, contributing to the literature on executive control and impulsivity.
Promotion and Leadership
By 2017, Dr. Racette was promoted to Associate Professor, reflecting her growing publication record and success in securing research funding. In 2019, she was appointed Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, where she oversees interdisciplinary research across psychology, neurology, and computer science. Her leadership emphasizes translational research, bridging basic neuroscience with clinical applications.
Current Roles
As of 2026, Dr. Racette holds the position of Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Toronto. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychologia. Additionally, she is a senior advisor to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for projects related to decision‑making disorders.
Research Contributions
Neural Dynamics of Decision Making
Dr. Racette’s work on the neural dynamics of decision making has elucidated how populations of neurons in the prefrontal cortex encode value and uncertainty. Her fMRI studies revealed that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex integrates sensory evidence and reward expectations, while the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex maintains context‑specific information during deliberation. She demonstrated that alterations in this network predict deficits in decision quality observed in patients with frontal lobe lesions.
Computational Modeling of Cognitive Control
Racette developed a hierarchical Bayesian model that captures the interplay between working memory load and task switching performance. The model incorporates parameters for attentional gating and signal‑to‑noise ratio, allowing for predictions of reaction times and error rates across varying task demands. This framework has been applied to study age‑related changes in cognitive control and has provided insights into the neural mechanisms underlying executive dysfunction in schizophrenia.
Neurochemical Modulation of Executive Function
Investigating the role of neuromodulators, Racette’s pharmacological fMRI experiments assessed how dopaminergic and noradrenergic agents affect prefrontal network connectivity. The studies revealed that dopamine agonists enhance the coupling between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex, thereby improving conflict monitoring. Conversely, noradrenergic antagonists disrupted the temporal coordination of frontal networks, leading to increased susceptibility to distraction.
Clinical Applications
Dr. Racette has collaborated with clinical teams to translate her findings into therapeutic interventions. A notable project involved the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) targeted at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to ameliorate impulsivity in individuals with attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The pilot study reported significant reductions in delay‑discounting behavior and improvements in self‑reported executive functioning.
Artificial Intelligence and Neural Modeling
Recognizing parallels between biological and artificial systems, Racette has contributed to the design of biologically plausible neural networks for machine learning. She co‑authored a paper that incorporated spiking neural dynamics into reinforcement learning algorithms, achieving performance gains on complex navigation tasks while preserving energy efficiency. These efforts highlight the bidirectional influence between cognitive neuroscience and AI research.
Selected Publications
- Racette, L. et al. (2010). “Neural Correlates of Cognitive Flexibility.” Journal of Neuroscience, 30(5), 1234–1247.
- Racette, L. & Kessler, E.S. (2012). “Effective Connectivity Changes Under Dopamine Modulation.” NeuroImage, 56(3), 889–898.
- Racette, L. et al. (2015). “Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling of Task Switching.” Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 27(9), 1823–1839.
- Racette, L. & Cohen, J.L. (2018). “Pharmacological fMRI of Executive Function.” Neuropsychologia, 115, 101–110.
- Racette, L. et al. (2020). “Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Targeting Prefrontal Cortex Improves Delay‑Discounting.” Biological Psychiatry, 88(4), 320–327.
- Racette, L. & Kim, S. (2022). “Spiking Neural Networks for Reinforcement Learning.” Artificial Intelligence Review, 45(2), 205–220.
Awards and Honors
- 2011 – Canadian Neuroscience Society Early Career Award
- 2014 – McGill University Faculty Research Excellence Award
- 2017 – Fellow, Canadian Psychological Society
- 2019 – CIHR Discovery Grant, $2.5 million (five‑year project)
- 2021 – National Academy of Sciences, Member of the Young Scholars Program
- 2023 – Distinguished Scientist Award, Society for Neuroscience
Professional Affiliations
- Canadian Neuroscience Society – Board Member (2018–2022)
- Society for Neuroscience – Editorial Advisory Board (2015–present)
- International Society for Computational Neuroscience – Program Chair (2019–2021)
- Canadian Psychological Society – Fellow (2017–present)
- European Brain and Behaviour Society – Committee Member (2020–present)
Mentorship and Teaching
Dr. Racette has supervised over 30 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have proceeded to faculty positions worldwide. Her courses in Cognitive Neuroscience and Computational Modeling are regularly rated among the top courses in the university’s psychology department. She has developed a series of open‑access teaching modules that integrate interactive fMRI datasets with programming assignments in Python and MATLAB.
Personal Life
Outside of academia, Racette enjoys playing classical piano, hiking in the Canadian Rockies, and volunteering with local community outreach programs that promote science education for youth. She is married to Dr. Marcus B. Liao, a computational biologist, and the couple has two children. They frequently collaborate on interdisciplinary projects that intersect neuroscience with computational biology.
Impact and Legacy
Dr. Racette’s interdisciplinary methodology has bridged gaps between cognitive psychology, neuroimaging, and computational neuroscience. Her contributions have deepened the scientific community’s understanding of how the brain integrates complex information to guide behavior. Moreover, her translational work has directly influenced therapeutic approaches for neuropsychiatric conditions. The computational tools she has developed are widely adopted in both academic and industrial settings, fostering further research in cognitive modeling and machine learning.
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