Julie Bonnaire

Julie Bonnaire

Cognitive Neuroscientist

NeuroSpin · CEA/Meta

Bridging neuroscience and artificial intelligence — I collect and analyze multimodal neuroimaging data to study and decode language-related brain activity.

Fascinated by the brain since day one.

A biology degree at Sorbonne Université led me to computational neuroscience, where I realized that brain activity could be transformed into data, and data into understanding. My Master’s in Integrative Biology and Physiology confirmed that direction.

Two brains, one bond.

At Inria, I was involved in developing an original approach to investigate social bonding and inter-brain synchrony in middle childhood, focusing on how children’s brain activity aligns during remote social interactions.

Capturing the brain signal.

At NeuroSpin, I run MEG and fMRI data acquisition sessions as participants process language, recording neural activity to build the datasets that feed our encoding and decoding models.

From signal to meaning.

We train deep learning models on neuroimaging data to decode what the brain is processing from its activity alone, turning BOLD signals and magnetic fields into predicted linguistic representations.

AI that understands minds, not just words.

From developing tools that support individuals facing cognitive challenges to advancing research in neuropathology, my long-term goal is to harness AI to deepen our understanding of the brain and drive innovation in healthcare.

Research Interests

Neuroscience

Understanding the computational principles underlying brain function, language processing, and social cognition.

Neuroimaging

Using fMRI, EEG, MEG and fNIRS to decode neural activity and map the brain's responses to complex stimuli.

AI

Applying machine learning to brain data to model and interpret neural activity.

Publications

See more here.

2026
Cognitive Science Open Source Go

Goxpyriment: A Go Framework for Behavioral and Cognitive Experiments

Christophe Pallier, Julie Bonnaire, Marie-France Fourcade

arXiv  ·  April 2026  ·  arXiv:2604.15245

2024
Neuroergonomics Hyperscanning Social AI

Bringing together multimodal and multilevel approaches to study the emergence of social bonds between children and improve social AI

Julie Bonnaire, Guillaume Dumas, Justine Cassell

Frontiers in Neuroergonomics  ·  May 2024  ·  DOI: 10.3389/fnrgo.2024.1290256