Faculty profile

Sylvain Williams

ResearcherPsychiatryMcGill University

This profile is built from public research funding records (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) and PubMed. We have not imported them from a McGill University directory, so their courses may be missing. Find their university profile.

Sylvain Williams

Researcher

Psychiatry

Health Sciences

McGill University

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Supervision signals

Has led research grants, which requires an independent research appointment. Ask their department whether they supervise graduate students.
7 publications in the last five years, latest in 2026.
Senior (last) author on 3 recent papers, a sign of leading a research group.
Principal investigator on 15 research grants (9 CIHR, 6 NSERC), most recently in 2026.
Supervised 2 trainees who won CIHR awards, most recently in 2018.

These signals come from public records, including CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

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Grants

Publications by year

Counts cover the works listed on the university profile; citation counts come from Dimensions.

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Signals and details

Research

Optogenetics Electrophysiology Alzheimer Hippocampus Calcium Imaging Memory Behavior Neural Circuits

Latest papers

Author Correction: Predictive coding of reward in the hippocampus.
Nature · 2026
Predictive coding of reward in the hippocampus.
Nature · 2026
Idiothetic representations are modulated by availability of sensory inputs and task demands in the hippocampal-septal circuit.
Cell reports · 2024 · senior author

All 57 publications

Latest funding

A Novel Subiculum-to-CA1 Long-Range Inhibitory Feedback Circuit Required for Associative Memory and Disrupted in Alzheimer's Disease
CIHR · 2026 · Nominated PI
$878,220
Sex differences and population dynamics of social fear memory
CIHR · 2025 · Co-investigator
$1,143,675
Revealing the mechanisms underlying memory consolidation in REM sleep
CIHR · 2023 · Nominated PI
$994,500

All 20 grants and awards

57 publications.

Author Correction: Predictive coding of reward in the hippocampus.

Yaghoubi M, Kumar MG, Nieto-Posadas A, Mosser CA, Gisiger T, Wilson É, Pehlevan C, Williams S, Brandon MP

Nature2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10615-3 PMID: 42120502

Predictive coding of reward in the hippocampus.

Yaghoubi M, Kumar MG, Nieto-Posadas A, Mosser CA, Gisiger T, Wilson É, Pehlevan C, Williams S, Brandon MP

Nature2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09958-0 PMID: 41535460

Idiothetic representations are modulated by availability of sensory inputs and task demands in the hippocampal-septal circuit.

Etter G, van der Veldt S, Mosser CA, Hasselmo ME, Williams S

Cell reports2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114980 PMID: 39535920

Linking temporal coordination of hippocampal activity to memory function.

Etter G, Carmichael JE, Williams S

Frontiers in cellular neuroscience2023Senior author

DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1233849 PMID: 37720546

Optogenetic activation of septal inhibitory cells abates focal seizures.

Lévesque M, Wang S, Etter G, Williams S, Avoli M

Journal of neurophysiology2023

DOI: 10.1152/jn.00111.2023 PMID: 37073973

Optogenetic frequency scrambling of hippocampal theta oscillations dissociates working memory retrieval from hippocampal spatiotemporal codes.

Etter G, van der Veldt S, Choi J, Williams S

Nature communications2023Senior author

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35825-5 PMID: 36697399

Bilateral optogenetic activation of inhibitory cells favors ictogenesis.

Lévesque M, Wang S, Etter G, Williams S, Avoli M

Neurobiology of disease2022

DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105794 PMID: 35718264

Conjunctive spatial and self-motion codes are topographically organized in the GABAergic cells of the lateral septum.

van der Veldt S, Etter G, Mosser CA, Manseau F, Williams S

PLoS biology2021Senior author

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001383 PMID: 34460812

A Characterization of the Electrophysiological and Morphological Properties of Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) Interneurons in the Medial Entorhinal Cortex (MEC).

Badrinarayanan S, Manseau F, Williams S, Brandon MP

Frontiers in neural circuits2021

DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.653116 PMID: 34421547

The McGill-Mouse-Miniscope platform: A standardized approach for high-throughput imaging of neuronal dynamics during behavior.

Mosser CA, Haqqee Z, Nieto-Posadas A, Murai KK, Stifani S, Williams S, Brandon MP

Genes, brain, and behavior2021

DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12686 PMID: 32691490

A Novel Subiculum-to-CA1 Long-Range Inhibitory Feedback Circuit Required for Associative Memory and Disrupted in Alzheimer's Disease

Nominated PICIHR2026Project Grant

Principal investigators: Williams, Sylvain

Keywords: Alzheimer; Calcium Imaging; Dopamine; Electrophysiology,; Hippocampus; Learning And Memory,; Mice In Vivo; Neural Circuits; Optogenetics; Systems Neuroscience

$878,220

Sex differences and population dynamics of social fear memory

Co-investigatorCIHR2025Project Grant

Principal investigators: Wong, Tak Pan

Keywords: Cfos; Hippocampus; In Vivo Calcium Imaging; Longitudinal Studies; Neural Pathway; Neuronal Ensembles; Optogenetics; Social Memory; Support Vector Machine

$1,143,675

Revealing the mechanisms underlying memory consolidation in REM sleep

Nominated PICIHR2023Project Grant

Principal investigators: Williams, Sylvain

Keywords: Alzheimer; Calcium Imaging; Consolidation; Electrophysiology; Hippocampus; Memory; Optogenetics; Rem; Sleep; Slow-Wave

$994,500

Revealing the role of hippocampal interneurons and principal cells in navigation and planning

Nominated PICIHR2022Project Grant

Principal investigators: Williams, Sylvain

Keywords: Alzheimer; Calcium Imaging; Dreadds; Electrophysiology; Encoding; Gabaergic Interneurons; Hippocampus; Optogenetics; Place Cells; Replay

$975,375

Neural substrates of spatial navigation in the Hippocampus of the freely moving marmoset

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Project Grant

Principal investigators: Martinez-Trujillo, Julio C

Keywords: Calcium Imaging; Electrophysiology; Freely Moving Primates; Hippocampus; Marmoset; Spatial Navigation; Visual Tracking

$967,726

Mechanisms and circuits underlying the role of the lateral septum brain region in learning and memory

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Williams, Sylvain

$330,000

Canada Research Chairs - Tier 1

Nominated PICIHR2020Canada Research Chairs - CIHR Funded - Tier 1

Principal investigators: Williams, Sylvain

Keywords: Crc

$1,400,000

Revealing the contribution of medial septal glutamatergic neurons in spatial navigation and memory using combination of calcium imaging, electrophysiological recordings and optogenetic in freely behaving mice.

SupervisorCIHR2018CIHR Fellowship

Principal investigators: Bott, Jean-Bastien

Keywords: Cognition; Electrophysiology; Freely Behaving Calcium Imaging; Memory; Mice; Optogenetic

$45,000

Circadian disruption, cognitive deficits and schizophrenia

Co-investigatorCIHR2016Project Grant

Principal investigators: Cermakian, Nicolas; Srivastava, Lalit K

Keywords: Animal Model; Behaviour; Circadian Rhythms; Cognitive Deficits; Gene X Environment Interaction; Light; Risk Genes; Schizophrenia; Shift Work; Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

$849,150

Lateral septal regulation of social memory

SupervisorCIHR2016CIHR Fellowship

Principal investigators: Chee, San-San.

Keywords: Autism; Clarity; Electrophysiology; Hippocampal Theta Oscillation; Lateral Septum; Neuronal Circuit Tracing; Optogenetics; Schizophrenia; Social Memory; Two-Photon Microscopy

$45,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

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Sylvain Williams

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Author Correction: Predictive coding of reward in the hippocampus.

Predictive coding of reward in the hippocampus.

Idiothetic representations are modulated by availability of sensory inputs and task demands in the hippocampal-septal circuit.

Linking temporal coordination of hippocampal activity to memory function.

Optogenetic activation of septal inhibitory cells abates focal seizures.

Optogenetic frequency scrambling of hippocampal theta oscillations dissociates working memory retrieval from hippocampal spatiotemporal codes.

Bilateral optogenetic activation of inhibitory cells favors ictogenesis.

Conjunctive spatial and self-motion codes are topographically organized in the GABAergic cells of the lateral septum.

A Characterization of the Electrophysiological and Morphological Properties of Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) Interneurons in the Medial Entorhinal Cortex (MEC).

The McGill-Mouse-Miniscope platform: A standardized approach for high-throughput imaging of neuronal dynamics during behavior.

A Novel Subiculum-to-CA1 Long-Range Inhibitory Feedback Circuit Required for Associative Memory and Disrupted in Alzheimer's Disease

Sex differences and population dynamics of social fear memory

Revealing the mechanisms underlying memory consolidation in REM sleep

Revealing the role of hippocampal interneurons and principal cells in navigation and planning

Neural substrates of spatial navigation in the Hippocampus of the freely moving marmoset

Mechanisms and circuits underlying the role of the lateral septum brain region in learning and memory

Canada Research Chairs - Tier 1

Revealing the contribution of medial septal glutamatergic neurons in spatial navigation and memory using combination of calcium imaging, electrophysiological recordings and optogenetic in freely behaving mice.

Circadian disruption, cognitive deficits and schizophrenia

Lateral septal regulation of social memory

Frequent collaborators

Massimo Avoli

Naguib Mechawar

Bruno Giros

Salah El Mestikawy

Bénédicte Amilhon

Bruno Giros

Jean Gotman

Argel Aguilar Valles

Louis-Eric Trudeau

Stefano Stifani

Jean-Claude Lacaille

Claire-Dominique Walker

Jean Gotman