The Quebec Speech Bank (QSB) is a research initiative designed to collect and analyze speech samples from French‑ and English‑speaking adults across Quebec. By studying how people express themselves in everyday language, we aim to better understand how thinking skills relate to natural speech in healthy individuals.
We are currently recruiting healthy adult volunteers across Quebec to participate in a single online session.
Why does speech matter for mental health research?
When we speak, we naturally reveal subtle clues about our thoughts and emotions. Researchers can use computational tools to analyze these speech patterns and explore how they may relate to mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. If speech‑based methods eventually reach clinical settings, they could help determine when more detailed and often costly assessments are needed.
To build such tools, we first need a large and diverse collection of speech samples from healthy adults. This helps researchers identify which speech features vary naturally with age, sex, or language background. This baseline will later serve as a comparison point in clinical research, allowing scientists to examine how different mental health conditions may influence communication. The long‑term goal is to support the development of fair, accurate, and scientifically validated tools that advance mental health research.
This research will also help track changes over time and deepen our understanding of how speech relates to mental health. The findings could lead to better treatments and new insights into how speech reflects our mental state.
Who can participate?
Your participation will shape the reference standard for healthy speech and support future advances in detecting mental health disorders.
We are currently looking for healthy volunteers who meet the following criteria:
Adults aged 18 or older
Fluent in French or English
Residents of Quebec
No history of diagnosed mental health illness, neurological disease or language impairments
Interested in participating in this research study? Want to find out whether you meet the eligibility criteria to take part?
Our recruitment team will be happy to assist you. Please contact us at: roozbeh.sattari.comtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca or :
What does participation involve?
Session Details
Initial Format: Participation consists of a single 90-minute session conducted via Zoom, from the comfort of your home.
Speech Tasks: You will complete a series of recorded speaking activities — describing images, sharing short stories, and discussing meaningful life experiences. These tasks are designed to capture natural, everyday speech.
Cognitive assessment: A test checking memory, thinking speed, reasoning and verbal fluency.
Participants receive financial compensation for their time and contribution.
Safety and Comfort
Your data will be fully anonymized to protect your privacy.
There are no known risks associated with participation in this research project.
Your Rights as a Participant
Participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You may withdraw at any time without providing a reason by informing the principal investigator or a member of the research team.
Please contact our team for more information!
Meet our Team, Funders and partners
Researchers
Lena Palaniyappan, Principal Investigator
Dr. Palaniyappan’s research focuses on leveraging clinical neuroscience to inform early interventions for youth mental health. His work addresses severe conditions including psychituc disorders, bipolar disorder and depression through a pragmatic and agnostic approach that prioritizes the urgency of psychiatric care.
Roozbeh Sattari, Research Coordinator
Roozbeh is the Project Coordinator of the Quebec Speech Bank, with a background in linguistics, electrical engineering, and psychology. His interdisciplinary background supports his interest in the study of speech and language in mental health. His interests focus on exploring how communication processes are affected in individuals with mental health disorders.
Fiona Meister, Research Assistant
Fiona Meister is a PhD student in Mental Health at McGill University and researcher the CEYMH. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in French studies and special education in Switzerland, she did jer Master’s in Linguistics at the University of Montreal.
Sophia Goertz, Research Assistant
Sophia is a Research Assistant who contributes to participant recruitment and communication and assists with various tasks that help ensure the organization and smooth progression of the study. She graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology.
Marie-Ange Barthel, Research Assistant
Marie-Ange Barthel is a Research Assistant at the Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health at the Douglas Research Centre. With graduate training in neuroscience and neurocognitive psychology, she works on the Québec Speech Bank project, recruiting participants, conducting interviews, and contributing to the speech database.
Deven Parekh, Chief Data Scientist
Deven Parekh works in collaboration with Dr. David Benrimoh’s team at the McGill Lab for Computational Psychiatry and Translation (McPsyt Lab), where he contributes to the digital phenotyping project and supports the data science team as well as the lab’s IT infrastructure. At CEYMH, he is responsible for development and maintenance of data pipelines for Quebec Speech Bank project and MOTS.
Co-researchers
Katie
Lavigne
PhD
The Douglas Research Centre
Maxime
Montembeault
PhD
The Douglas Research Centre
Stéphane
Potvin
PhD
Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Est-de-l’ïle-de-Montreal
Delphine
Raucher-Chéné
PhD
The Douglas Research Centre
Vincent
Taschereau-Dumouchel
PhD
Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Est-de-l’ïle-de-Montreal
Elisabeth
Thibaudeau
PhD
CERVO Brain
Research Centre
Debra
Titone
PhD
Departement of Psychology, McGill University
