Paul Cisek is a Full Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal. His research laboratory focuses on understanding how the brain controls behavior through the integration of decision-making and motor planning processes in the cerebral cortex. His work challenges traditional models that treat perception, decision-making, and action as separate serial processes. Dr. Cisek received his Baccalauréat in Computer Science from Rochester Institute of Technology (1991), followed by a Doctorat in Neurosciences and Physiologie from Boston University (1997). He completed postdoctoral training at both Université de Montréal and Queen's University (1996-2001). His research program centers on developing a theoretical framework describing how the brain interacts with the external world, with specific focus on how decision-making and motor planning processes are integrated in the primate cerebral cortex. Through his 'affordance competition hypothesis,' Cisek proposes that the brain operates through parallel processes where potential actions compete for selection rather than following a serial perception-decision-action model. His lab conducts behavioral, neurophysiological, and computational research, often using primate models to study neural mechanisms of real-time decision-making. The analysis of Dr. Cisek's recent publications reveals a strong focus on evolutionary perspectives in neuroscience, neural mechanisms of decision-making under time pressure, and the integration of biomechanical constraints in action selection. His work bridges cognitive neuroscience, motor control, and computational modeling to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how the brain selects and executes actions in dynamic environments. Dr. Cisek has been continuously funded by major Canadian research agencies including CIHR, NSERC, and FRQS since at least 2002 for his interdisciplinary studies of decision-making and motor planning. His current projects include 'Neural mechanisms of decision-making during natural interactive behavior' (2025-2031) and 'EthoLab: A platform for neurophysiological studies of natural behavior' (2025-2028). As an educator, Dr. Cisek has supervised numerous graduate students to completion of their degrees and currently teaches courses including NSC-3003 (Perception, action et neurocomputation), NSC-3084 (Neurosciences computationnelles), and NSC-6084 (Neurosciences computationnelles). His lab currently includes doctoral students, master's students, and postdoctoral fellows working on various aspects of decision neuroscience. Dr. Cisek is affiliated with several research groups including SNC (Groupe de recherche sur la signalisation neurale et la circuiterie), GRSV (Groupe de recherche en sciences de la vision), and CIRCA (Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur le cerveau et l'apprentissage). His laboratory develops sophisticated experimental platforms for studying neural mechanisms of decision-making, including virtual reality environments for neurophysiological studies of natural behavior.
