Les limites d'application d'un principe de contrôle perceptivo-moteur

• François Matthieu

• Loi de contrôle – Approche écologique – Interception – Couplage perceptivo-moteur – Proprioception

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the perceptual-motor mechanisms that underlie the control of an interceptive action with movement. More specifically, the research undertaken tested the robustness of a principle of perceptual-motor control based on the cancellation of the rate of change of the bearing angle, in one hand by manipulating the informative richness of the environment; and secondly, by testing populations agents that presented with specific neurophysiological characteristics. A virtual reality setup and de-correlation and/or restricted protocols of information were used. This virtual reality device consisted of a large screen located in front of participants, coupled with different behavioral interfaces (i.e., a treadmill or a joystick). The results obtained demonstrated that to a certain extent, the principle of perceptual-motor control tested (CBA) was sufficiently robust to cope with environmental constraints. Dependent on contextual information however, agents relied on a different principle of control. The results also indicated that the principle of control CBA was robust enough to explain the behavior of distinct populations (i.e., Young, Middle-aged, deafferented patients), if the perceptive capacity of agents was integrated as perceptual thresholds (reflecting the state of impaired proprioception). In summary, this thesis not only delimited the scope of application of a particular principle of perceptual-motor control but also demonstrated its robustness.