thesis

Les interactions visuo-posturales néonatales, fonctions et fonctionnements

Defense date:

Jan. 1, 1994

Edit

Institution:

Paris 5

Disciplines:

Psychology

Authors:

Directors:

Abstract EN:

Ce travail experimental, dedie a l'etude des interactions visuo-posturales neonatales, a permis de confirmer l'existence de ces interactions des les premiers jours de la vie, de mettre en evidence que ce couplage entre les systemes visuel et postural est fonctionnellement modulable a la naissance et de montrer que les proprietes fonctionnelle de ce couplage neonatal sont preservees au cours du developpement. La presence de proprietes fonctionnelles unissant ces deux systemes a la naissance et leur maintien au cours du developpement nous amenent a faire l'hypothese qu'elles emergent de fonctionnements biomecaniques et neuronaux elementaires qui restent invariants au cours de l'ontogenese. Nous suggerons en outre que la fonction developpementale de ce couplage consiste, par un processus de calibration des mecano-recepteurs, a favoriser l'emergence de competences posturales nouvelles. Plus specifiquement, nous defendons l'idee selon laquelle les invariants fonctionnels du couplage visuo-postural que nous avons pu identifier, dans ce travail, sont, systematiquement, reutilises ou reactives lors des phases de reorganisations de la regulation posturale, induite par les transformations staturo-ponderales, au cours du developpement.

Abstract FR:

This experimental work, dedicated to the study of neonatal visuo-postural interactions, has allowed us to confirm the existence of these interactions as soon as the very first days of life, to evidence that this coupling between visual and postural systems can be functionally modulated at birth, and to show that its functional properties are preserved during development. The presence of functional properties connecting these two systems at birth and their maintenance during development lead us to draw the hypothesis that they emerge from elementary biomechanical and neuronal functionings that remain unchanged throughout ontogeny. Moreover, we suggest that the developmental function of this coupling consists in favouring the emergence of new postural competences through a calibration process of the mechanical receptors. We more specifically support the idea that the functional invariants of the visuo-postural coupling we identified in this work, are systematically re-used or re-activated during the reorganization phases of postural regulation induced by the stature and weight transformations during development.