Justine Saade-Sergent (31 March 31 1950 – 11 April 1994) was a researcher in the field of cognitive neuroscience. She received her PhD from the McGill University. She was an associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University from 1979 - 1982.
Sergent was considered a top scientist in her field, until she was anonymously accused of violating research ethics. The stress of the attack on her character and on her research was so much that she and her husband committed suicide together less than two years later. Three years after death, the inquiry was unable to come up with any evidence of fraud.
Justine Saade was born March 31, 1950 in Lebanon. While teaching there, she met her later-to-be husband Yves Sergent. He brought her back to back to France where they married. Justine Saade-Sergent later enrolled at McGill University where she earned her bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees.
"Justine Sergent was one of the first researchers that brought forth evidence towards the functional neuroanatomy of face processing. She described the Fusiform face area or FFA in 1992.
"Using positron emission tomography (PET), Sergent found that there were different patterns of activation in response to the two different required tasks, face processing verses object processing."
This processing area was later named by Nancy Kanwisher in 1997 "who proposed that the existence of the FFA is evidence for domain specificity in the visual system".
Scandal and Death
In July 1992 Sergent was accused of violating ethical research procedure in an anonymous letter. She was accused of failing to get approval from an ethics committee for her research on the brain function of pianists. The research included the use of a Positron emission tomography or PET scan, which requires the injection of radioactive isotopes. Sergent's response was that she thought that the approval she had already received maintained in effect. In 1993 Sergent received a reprimand stemming from her failure to report a slight change in stimuli in her experiments to the ethics committee.
Almost two years after the first anonymous letter was sent out, several copies of another anonymous letters were sent out. The letter attempted to further discredit Sergent by linking her research conduct to the case of a Dr. Roger Poisson of St. Luc Hospital. Dr. Poisson had admitted to falsifying records in his breast cancer research.
One of these letters was received by the Montreal Gazette, and on April 9, 1994 they published an article on Sergent's 1993 reprimand. The weekend after this article was published, Sergent and her husband committed suicide together.
Justine Saade-Sergent, 44, and her husband Yves Sergent, 46, were found dead in their garage of carbon monoxide poisoning. The coroner pronounced their time of death 11:40am April 12, 1994. There was a suicide note citing the anonymous letter as a reason for their suicide. The note was published in both the Gazette and La Presse.
The inquiry into her ethical violations was suspended July 15, 1997, three years after her death. No evidence of fraud was found.
Lawrence M. Parsons, Justine Sergent, Donald A. Hodges, Peter T. Fox, The brain basis of piano performance Neuropsychologia, 43(2), 199-215 (2005)
Sergent, J. (1994). Brain-imaging studies of cognitive functions. Trends in Neurosciences, 17(6), 221-227.
Sergent, J. (1994). Cognitive and neural structures in face processing. In A. Kertesz (Ed.), Localization and neuroimaging in neuropsychology. foundations of neuropsychology (Academic Press ed., pp. 473–494). San Diego, CA.
Sergent, J. (1994). La mémoire des visages. La Recherche, 267, 792-797.
Sergent, J., MacDonald, B., & Zuck, E. (1994). Structural and functional organization of knowledge about faces and proper names : A prositron emission tomography study. In C. Umiltà, & M. Moscovitch (Eds.), Attention and performance XV : Conscious and noncouscious information processing (MIT Press ed., pp. 203)
Justine Sergent, Shinsuke Ohta, Brennan MacDonald, Eric Zuck, Segregated processing of facial identity and emotion in the human brain: A pet study Vis cogn, 1(2), 349-369 (1994)
Justine Sergent, Mapping the musician brain Hum Brain Mapp, 1(1), 20-38 (1993)
Sergent, J. (1993). Mapping the musician brain. Human Brain Mapping, 1(1), 20-38. doi:10.1002/hbm.460010104
Sergent, J. (1993). Music, the brain and ravel. Trends in Neurosciences, 16(5), 168-172. doi:10.1016/0166-2236(93)90142-9
Corballis, M. C., & Sergent, J. (1992). Judgements about numerosity by a commissurotomized subject. Neuropsychologia, 30(10), 865-876.
Sergent, J. (1992). Functional neuroanatomy of face and object processing : A positron emission tomography study. Brain, 115(1), 15-36. doi:10.1093/brain/115.1.15
Sergent, J. (1992). Varieties of functional deficits in prospagnosia. Cerebral Cortex, 2(5), 375-388. doi:10.1093/cercor/2.5.375
Gross, C. G., & Sergent, J. (1992). Face recognition. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2(2), 156-161.
Sergent, J. (1992). Positron emission tomography study of letter and object processing : Empirical findings and methodological considerations. Cerebral Cortex, 2(1), 68-80. doi:10.1093/cercor/2.1.68
Sergent, J., & Signoret, J. (1992). Implicit access to knowledge derived from unrecognized faces in prosopagnosia. Cerebral Cortex, 2(5), 389-400. doi:10.1093/cercor/2.5.389
Sergent, J., Zuck, E., Terriah, S., & MacDonald, B. (1992). Distributed neural network underlying musical sight-reading and keyboard performance. Science, 257(5066), 106-109.
Sergent, J., Signoret, J., Bruce, V., & Rolls, E. T. (1992). Functional and anatomical decomposition of face processing : Evidence from prosopagnosia and PET study of normal subjects (and discussion). Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, 335(1273), 55-62.
Sergent, J. (1991). Judgments of relative position and distance on representations of spatial relations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 17(3), 762-780. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.17.3.762
SERGENT, J. (1991). Processing of spatial relations within and between the disconnected cerebral hemispheres. Brain, 114(2), 1025-1043. doi:10.1093/brain/114.2.1025
Sergent, J., & Corballis, M. C. (1991). 10 ups and downs in cerebral lateralization. In F. L. Kitterle (Ed.), Cerebral laterality : Theory & research (Psychology Press ed., ). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Justine Sergent, Michael C. Corballis, Generation of multipart images in the disconnected cerebral hemispheres Bull Psychon Soc, 28(4), 309-311 (1990)
Sergent, J. (1990). Furtive incursions into bicameral minds : Integrative and coordinating role of subcortical structures. Brain, 113(2), 537-568. doi:10.1093/brain/113.2.537
SERGENT, J., & Poncet, M. (1990). From covert to overt recognition of faces in a prosopagnosic patient. Brain, 113(4), 989-1004. doi:10.1093/brain/113.4.989
Sergent, J. (1990). The neuropsychology of visual image generation: Data, method, and theory. Brain and Cognition, 13(1), 98-129. doi:10.1016/0278-2626(90)90043-N
Corballis, M. C., & Sergent, J. (1989). Mental rotation in a commissurotomized subject. Neuropsychologia, 27(5), 585-597. doi:10.1016/0028-3932(89)90105-X
Sergent, J. (1989). Image generation and processing of generated images in the cerebral hemispheres. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 15(1), 170-178. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.15.1.170
Sergent, J. (1989). Intégration hémisphérique en l'absence de corps calleux. Médicinel Sciences, 5(10), 746-753. doi:10.4267/10608/3906
Sergent, J. (1989). Ontogenesis and microgenesis of face perception. Current Psychology of Cognition, 9(1), 123-128.
Sergent, J., & Villemure, J. (1989). Prosopagnosia in a right hemispherictomized patient. Brain, 112(4975), 995. doi:10.1093/brain/112.4.975
Sergent, J., & Corballis, M. C. (1989). Categorization of disoriented faces in the cerebral hemispheres of normal and commissurotomized subjects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 15(4), 701-710. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.15.4.701
Sergent, J. (1988). Face perception and the right hemisphere. In L. Weiskrantz (Ed.), Thought without language (Oxford University Press ed., pp. 108–131)
Sergent, J. (1988). An investigation into perceptual completion in blind areas of the visual field. Brain, 111(2), 347-373. doi:10.1093/brain/111.2.347
Corballis, M. C., & Sergent, J. (1988). Imagery in a commissurotomized patient. Neuropsychologia, 26(1), 13-26. doi:10.1016/0028-3932(88)90027-9
Sergent, J. (1987). Failures to confirm the spatial-frequency hypothesis : Fatal blow or healthy complication? Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 41(4), 412-428. doi:10.1037/h0084170
Sergent, J. (1987). Information processing and laterality effects for object and face perception. In G. W. Humphreys, & M. J. Riddoch (Eds.), Visual object processing: A cognitive neuropsychological approach (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. ed., pp. 145–173)
Sergent, J., & Takane, Y. (1987). Structures in two-choice reaction-time data. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 13(2), 300-315. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.13.2.300
Sergent, J. (1987). A new look at the humain split-brain. Brain, 110(5), 1375-1392. doi:doi: 10.1093/brain/110.5.1375
Hellige, J. B., & Sergent, J. (1986). Role of task factors in visual field asymmetries. Brain and Cognition, 5(2), 200-222. doi:10.1016/0278-2626(86)90055-2
Sergent, J. (1986). Microgenesis of face perception. Aspects of Face Perception, 28, 17-33. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-4420-6_2
Sergent, J., & Hellige, J. B. (1986). Role of input factors in visual-field asymmetries. Brain and Cognition, 5(2), 174-199. doi:10.1016/0278-2626(86)90054-0
Sergent, J. (1986). Prolegomena to the use of the tachistoscope in neuropsychological research. Brain and Cognition, 5(2), 127-130. doi:10.1016/0278-2626(86)90051-5
Sergent, J. (1985). Influence of task and input factors on hemispheric involvement in face processing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 11(6), 846-861. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.11.6.846
Sergent, J., & Myers, J. J. (1985). Manual, blowing, and verbal simple reactions to lateralized flashes of light in commissurotomized patients. Perception & Psychophysics, 37(6), 571-578. doi:10.3758/BF03204924
Sergent, J. (1984). Configural processing of faces in the left and the right cerebral hemispheres. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 10(4), 554-572. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.10.4.554
Sergent, J. (1984). Processing of visually presented vowels in the cerebral hemispheres. Brain and Language, 21(1), 136-146. doi:10.1016/0093-934X(84)90042-7
Sergent, J. (1984). An investigation into component and configural processes underlying face perception. British Journal Of Psychology, 75(2), 221.
Sergent, J. (1984). Hemispheric mediation of same-different judgments. Perception & Psychophysics, 35(6), 592-595. doi:10.3758/BF03205960
Sergent, J. (1984). Role of contrast, lettercase, and viewing conditions in a lateralized word-naming task. Perception & Psychophysics, 35(5), 489-498. doi:10.3758/BF03203925
Sergent, J. (1984). Hemispheric competence and perceptual confusability. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 35(4), 589-596. doi:10.1080/14640748308402148
Sergent, J. (1984). Inferences from unilateral brain damage about normal hemispheric functions in visual pattern recognition. Psychological Bulletin, 96(1), 99-115. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.96.1.99
Sergent, J., & Lorber, E. (1983). Perceptual categorization in the cerebral hemispheres. Brain and Cognition, 2(1), 39-54. doi:10.1016/0278-2626(83)90028-3
Justine Sergent, The analytic/holistic dichotomy: An epiphenomenon Behav Brain Sci, 6(03), 521 (1983)
Sergent, J. (1983). Unified response to bilateral hemispheric stimulation by a split-brain patient. Nature, 305, 800-802. doi:10.1038/305800a0
Sergent, J. (1983). The effects of sensory limitations on hemispheric processing. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 37(3), 345-366.
Yoshio Takane, Justine Sergent, Multidimensional scaling models for reaction times and same-different judgments Psychometrika, 48(3), 393-423 (1983)
Sergent, J. (1983). Role of the input in visual hemispheric asymmetries. Psychological Bulletin, 93(3), 481-512. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.93.3.481
Sergent, J. (1982). About face: Left-hemisphere involvement in processing physiognomies. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 8(1), 1-14. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.8.1.1
Sergent, J. (1982). Basic determinants in visual-field effects with special reference to the hannay et al. (1981) study. Brain and Language, 16(1), 158-164. doi:10.1016/0093-934X(82)90079-7
Justine Sergent, Barbara A. Holzer, Influence of luminance on hemispheric processing Bull Psychon Soc, 20(4), 221-223 (1982)
Sergent, J. (1982). Theoretical and methodological consequences of variations in exposure duration in visual laterality studies. Perception & Psychophysics, 31(5), 451-461. doi:10.3758/BF03204855
Sergent, J. (1982). Influence of input characteristics on hemispheric cognitive processing. McGill University,
Sergent, J. (1982). The cerebral balance of power: Confrontation or cooperation? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 8(2), 253-272. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.8.2.253 Thesis for Ph.D.
Sergent, J., & Bindra, D. (1981). Differential hemispheric processing of faces: Methodological considerations and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 89(3), 541-554. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.89.3.541
Justine Sergent, Wallace E. Lambert, Learned helplessness or "learned incompetence"? Can J Behav Sci, 11(4), 257-273 (1979)
Justine Sergent & Yitzchak M. Binik, "On the Use of Symmetry in the Rorschach Test". Journal of Personality Assessment, Volume 43, Issue 4, 1979. pp. 355–359.
The Justine and Yves Sergent International Prize in Cognitive Neuroscience
The Justine and Yves Sergent Conference
