Previous studies investigating how humans build reliable spatial knowledge representations allowing them to find their way from one point to another in complex environments have been focused on comparing the relative importance of the two-dimensional visual geometry of routes and intersections, multi-dimensional data from direct exposure with the real world, or verbal symbols and/or instructions. This thesis sheds further light on the multi-dimensional and multi-sensorial aspects by investigating how the cognitive processing of spatial information derived from different sources of sensory and higher order input influences the performance of human observers who have to find their way from memory through complex and non-familiar real-world environments. Three experiments in large-scale urban environments of the real world, and in computer generated representations of these latter (Google Street View), were run to investigate the influence of prior exposure to 2D visual or tactile maps of an itinerary, compared with a single direct experience or verbal instructions, on navigation performances in sighted and/or visually deficient individuals, and in individuals temporarily deprived of vision. Performances were analyzed in terms of time from departure to destination, number of stops, number of wrong turns, and success rates. Potential strategies employed by individuals during navigation and mental mapping abilities were screened on the basis of questionnaires and drawing tests. Subjective levels of psychological stress (experiment 2) were measured to bring to the fore possible differences between men and women in this respect. The results of these experiments show that 2D visual maps, briefly explored prior to navigation, generate better navigation performances compared with poorly scaled virtual representations of a complex real-world environment (experiment 1), the best performances being produced by a single prior exposure to the real-world itinerary. However, brief familiarization with a reliably scaled virtual representation of a non-familiar real-world environment (Google Street View) not only generates optimal navigation in computer generated testing (virtual reality), but also produces better navigation performances when tested in the real-world environment and compared with prior exposure to 2D visual maps (experiment 2). Congenitally blind observers (experiment 3) who have to find their way from memory through a complex non-familiar urban environment perform swiftly and with considerable accuracy after exposure to a 2D tactile map of their itinerary. They are also able to draw a visual image of their itinerary on the basis of the 2D tactile map exposure. Other visually deficient or sighted but blindfolded individuals seem to have greater difficulty in finding their way again than congenitally blind people, regardless of the type of prior exposure to their test itinerary. The findings of this work here are discussed in the light of current hypotheses regarding the presumed intrinsic nature of human spatial representations, replaced herein within a context of working memory models. It is suggested that multi-dimensional temporary storage systems, capable of processing a multitude of sensory input in parallel and with a much larger general capacity than previously considered in terms of working memory limits, need to be taken into account for future research.

One of the most powerful and important applications that the brain accomplishes is solving the sensory "cocktail party problem:" to adaptively suppress extraneous signals in an environment. Theoretical studies suggest that the solution to the problem involves an adaptive filter, which learns to remove the redundant noise. However, neural learning is also in its infancy and there are still many questions about the stability and application of synaptic learning rules for neural computation. In this thesis, the implementation of an adaptive filter in the brain of a weakly electric fish, A. Leptorhynchus, was studied. It was found to require a cerebellar architecture that could supply independent frequency channels of delayed feedback and multiple burst learning rules that could shape this feedback. This unifies two ideas about the function of the cerebellum that were previously separate: the cerebellum as an adaptive filter and as a generator of precise temporal inputs.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:46:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6007.pdf: 5863995 bytes, checksum: b6bdf5fea59f7a522260f11079b13f4a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-25 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) can cause difficulties on scholar performance and behavior problems in this context, what may interfere, thus, on the full participation of the student. The teachers are on a ideal position for the recognizing of de disorder signs and can change the life of a lot of children, because the SPD are unkown in Brazil and doesn t find the diagnosis, those children must be helping the improve of the school failure statistics. On the international tendencies for the concept of inclusive education, the prepared teacher for the inclusion is that one capacitated for different pedagogic strategies, for different students. The further teacher development has been considered one of the better ways for prepare the teacher for the inclusion. The aim of this research was to evaluate the results (short and long-term) of a further teacher development intervention about the SPD and its consequences for the scholar performance. The method was exploratory-descriptive s qualitative and quantitative. The research received authorization of the Municipal Education Secretary, was approved by CEP and authorized by the school after the teacher approval. The data collection and intervention was developed in a classroom of the participant school, located on a peripheral region of a midsize city of São Paulo s State central region. The research steps where developed during six HTPC s moments (a time for pedagogic collective work) and the participants where 16 teachers and administrators responsible for the first to the fifth grade from a government college of elementary education. A pilot study previously developed with two volunteers embased the elaboration and adequation of the data collection instruments and the illustrative cases, which were used as a base for complete the instruments. For the initial collect, participants filled the self-guided interview and the pre-test sheet. After the intervention, they filled the course evaluation and the pos-test. Eight months later, it was developed the follow-up data collecttion individual for those whom cited current students with similar profiles to the illustrative cases and a general instrument for all the participants. The qualitative data analysis where realized by theoretical axis, the quantitative data where analised using the t-student test, adopting p<0,05. The results shown the effectiveness of intervention to form opinion about new and unknown topics, once it was a movement from the non-responded affirmatives to the ones correctly responded on the pos-test. However, the intervention wasn t able to modifies pre-established incorrect concepts from the initial data collection. The follow-up showed that, for the topic discussed on this constructed intervention, this kind of further development wasn t able to transform participants in prevention e action agents. That means that the further development of this research got positive short-term results, but not long-term outcome in respect to the changing attitude. / O Transtorno do Processamento Sensorial (TPS) pode ocasionar dificuldades no desempenho escolar e problemas de comportamento nesse contexto, interferindo, portanto, na participação plena do aluno. Os professores estão numa posição ideal para o reconhecimento dos sinais do transtorno e podem mudar a vida de muitas crianças, pois, por serem pouco conhecidos no Brasil, tais casos não encontram um diagnóstico e podem estar engrossando as estatísticas do fracasso escolar. Na tendência internacional de concepção de educação inclusiva, o professor preparado para a inclusão é aquele capacitado para diferentes estratégias pedagógicas, para diferentes alunos. A formação continuada tem sido vista como uma das melhores formas para o preparo do professor para a inclusão. O objetivo da pesquisa foi avaliar os resultados a curto e longo prazo de uma intervenção, no formato de formação continuada de professores, sobre o TPS e as consequências deste para o desempenho escolar. O método foi qualitativo e quantitativo, do tipo exploratório-descritivo. A pesquisa recebeu autorização da Secretaria Municipal de Educação, foi aprovada pelo CEP e autorizada pela diretoria da escola mediante aprovação prévia dos professores. O local de realização da coleta de dados e da intervenção foi uma sala de aula da escola estudada, localizada em bairro periférico de um município de porte médio da região central do estado de São Paulo. As etapas da pesquisa foram desenvolvidas em seis HTPCs (Horário de Trabalho Pedagógico Coletivo) e as participantes foram 16 professoras e gestoras responsáveis pelas turmas do 1º ao 5º ano do ensino público fundamental. Um estudo piloto realizado previamente com duas voluntárias embasou a elaboração e adequação dos instrumentos de coleta de dados e dos elementos disparadores para o preenchimento dos mesmos. Para a coleta inicial as participantes preencheram entrevista autoguiada, checklist e pré-teste. Após a intervenção, preencheram a avaliação do curso e o pós-teste. Após oito meses, foi realizada coleta de follow-up individual para quem citou alunos atuais com perfis similares aos casos ilustrativos e geral para todas as participantes. A análise dos dados qualitativos foi realizada por meio de eixos teóricos, os dados quantitativos foram analisados por meio do teste t-student adotando-se nível de significância p<0,05. Os resultados evidenciaram que a intervenção foi efetiva para formar opiniões sobre temas novos e desconhecidos pelas participantes, uma vez que houve um movimento das respostas deixadas em branco no pré-teste para respostas respondidas corretamente no pós-teste. Entretanto o curso se mostrou ineficaz para modificar concepções já pré-estabelecidas de forma incorreta na coleta inicial. O follow-up mostrou que, para esta temática abordada com a intervenção construída nesta pesquisa, esse tipo de formação continuada não foi capaz de transformar os participantes em agentes de prevenção e ação. Ou seja, a formação continuada realizada obteve resultados positivos a curto prazo no que tange à transmissão de informação e o sentimento de empoderamento, porém a longo prazo não obteve resultados positivos no que diz respeito a mudança de atitudes.

One of the most powerful and important applications that the brain accomplishes is solving the sensory "cocktail party problem:" to adaptively suppress extraneous signals in an environment. Theoretical studies suggest that the solution to the problem involves an adaptive filter, which learns to remove the redundant noise. However, neural learning is also in its infancy and there are still many questions about the stability and application of synaptic learning rules for neural computation. In this thesis, the implementation of an adaptive filter in the brain of a weakly electric fish, A. Leptorhynchus, was studied. It was found to require a cerebellar architecture that could supply independent frequency channels of delayed feedback and multiple burst learning rules that could shape this feedback. This unifies two ideas about the function of the cerebellum that were previously separate: the cerebellum as an adaptive filter and as a generator of precise temporal inputs.

L'agressivité excessive chez les jeunes enfants est un problème important en santé mentale, entraînant des dysfonctionnements en famille et en collectivité. Les objectifs de cette étude sont de : a) spécifier les troubles cliniques chez 70 jeunes enfants âgés de moins de 5 ans, orientés pour de l'agressivité physique excessive ainsi que leur profil développemental (tempérament, langage et développement psychomoteur) ; b) cerner les caractéristiques des attitudes éducatives parentales et celles des interactions maternelles et les articuler avec les profils développementaux des enfants ; c) comparer ces données avec celles recueillies auprès d'une population de 80 jeunes enfants typiques du même âge. Les résultats montrent que 60% des enfants cliniques (Age moyen = 3,5 ans) présentent un trouble de la régulation sensorielle. Les enfants cliniques manifestent fréquemment des troubles du sommeil concomitants et un retard de langage. Leur tempérament est caractérisé par une impulsivité importante et des difficultés de contrôle inhibiteur. Les attitudes éducatives parentales sont à la fois laxistes, surréactives et hostiles. Les interactions mère-enfant semblent perturbées et ceci, dès le plus jeune âge. Les résultats sont discutés en termes de stratégies thérapeutiques adaptées qui peuvent être proposées pour aider ces jeunes enfants et leurs parents. / Excessive aggression in young children is of major concern in the field of child mental health. They often disturb family and social life. The first aim of this study is to specify the clinical troubles and the developmental profile (temperament, language and psychomotor development) of 70 preschool children under 5 years referred for excessive physical aggression. The second aim is to define parenting characteristics and mother-child interactions and to articulate them with the children's developmental profile. The third aim is to compare these data with a typical population of the same age. The results show that 60 % of the clinical children (Average age = 3,5 years) present a disorder of the sensory processing. The clinical children show frequently concomitant sleeping disorders and delay of language. Their temperament is characterized by an important impulsiveness and difficulties of effortful control. Parenting is characterized by laxness, overreactivity and hostility. Children with excessive aggression evolve in disrupted mother-infant interactions from the youngest age. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the therapeutic interventions that may be designed to help these young children and their family.

Mémoire de maîtrise présenté en vue de l'obtention de la maîtrise en psychologie (M. Sc) / Les symptômes maternels de stress, d’anxiété et de dépression durant la grossesse entraînent des altérations hormonales susceptibles d’affecter le développement fœtal de zones cérébrales et de mécanismes neurologiques impliqués dans l'excitabilité cérébrale et le traitement sensoriel. En période postnatale, ces symptômes de détresse maternelle peuvent affecter l’interaction mère-enfant, influençant le développement comportemental de l'enfant. Les effets de la santé mentale maternelle sur le développement sensoriel de l’enfant ayant été peu explorés, l’objectif est d’étudier la relation entre les symptômes maternels prénataux et postnataux de dépression, d'anxiété et de stress lié à la pandémie de Covid-19, et l'évitement sensoriel chez l'enfant à 18 mois. Les données longitudinales de 409 participantes suivies durant la pandémie de Covid-19 ont été utilisées. Celles-ci ont complété des questionnaires durant leur grossesse et jusqu’à 18 mois après leur accouchement. La dépression, l'anxiété et le stress lié à la pandémie de Covid-19 ont été évalués durant la grossesse et à 18 mois postnatal par l’Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), le Generalized Anxiety Disorders 7-item Scale (GAD-7) et une échelle évaluant sur 10 points le niveau de stress ressenti par rapport à la pandémie de Covid-19. L'évitement sensoriel chez l’enfant a été évalué à 18 mois postnatal par le questionnaire Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile – Second Edition. Des corrélations de Pearson et des régressions multiples ont mesuré les associations entre les symptômes de détresse maternelle et l'évitement sensoriel chez l'enfant. La dépression et l'anxiété maternelles prénatales et à 18 mois postnatal étaient significativement corrélées à l'évitement sensoriel chez l'enfant (p<0,05). Ensemble, ces variables expliquent 10,7% (F=2.79, p<.05) de la variance de l'évitement sensoriel chez l'enfant. Ces résultats soutiennent l'effet contributif de certains symptômes prénataux et postnataux de détresse maternelle sur le développement sensoriel de l’enfant. Des recherches supplémentaires seront nécessaires afin d’explorer les mécanismes biologiques de la santé mentale maternelle et des aspects comportementaux chez l’enfant susceptibles d’influencer son développement sensoriel. / Maternal symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression during pregnancy lead to hormonal alterations that can affect fetal development of brain areas and neurological mechanisms involved in cerebral excitability and sensory processing. In the postnatal period, these symptoms of maternal distress can affect mother-child interaction, influencing the child's behavioural development. As the effects of maternal mental health on the child's sensory development have been little explored, the aim is to investigate the relationship between maternal pre- and postnatal symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress related to the Covid-19 pandemic, and child sensory avoidance at 18 months. Longitudinal data from 409 participants followed during the Covid-19 pandemic were used. They completed questionnaires during pregnancy and up to 18 months after delivery. Depression, anxiety and stress related to the Covid-19 pandemic were assessed prenatally and at 18 months postnatal using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorders 7-item Scale (GAD-7) and a 10-point scale assessing the level of stress felt related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Child sensory avoidance was assessed at 18 months postnatal using the Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile - Second Edition questionnaire. Pearson correlations and multiple regressions measured the associations between maternal distress symptoms and child sensory avoidance. Prenatal and 18-month postnatal maternal depression and anxiety were significantly correlated with child sensory avoidance (p<0.05). Together, these variables explained 10.7% (F=2.79, p<.05) of the variance of child sensory avoidance. These results support the contributory effect of certain prenatal and postnatal maternal distress symptoms on child sensory development. Further research is needed to explore the biological mechanisms of maternal mental health and behavioural aspects of children that may influence their sensory development.

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Predictive coding theorizes the capacity of neural structures to form predictions about forthcoming sensory events based on previous sensory input. This concept increasingly gains attention within experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. In auditory research, predictive coding has become a useful model that elegantly explains different aspects of auditory sensory processing and auditory perception. Many of these aspects are backed up by experimental evidence. However, certain fundamental features of predictive auditory processing have not been addressed so far by experimental investigations, like correlates of neural predictions that show up before the onset of an expected event. Four experiments were designed to investigate the proposed mechanism under more realistic conditions as compared to previous studies by manipulating different aspects of predictive (un)certainty, thereby examining the ecological validity of predictive processing in audition. Moreover, predictive certainty was manipulated gradually across five conditions from unpredictable to fully predictable in linearly increasing steps which drastically decreases the risk of discovering incidental findings. The results obtained from the conducted experiments partly confirm the results from previous studies by demonstrating effects of predictive certainty on ERPs in response to omissions of potentially predictable stimuli. Furthermore, results partly suggest that the auditory system actively engages in stimulus predictions in a literal sense as evidenced by gradual modulations of pre-stimulus ERPs associated with different degrees of predictive certainty. However, the current results remain inconsistent because the observed effects were relatively small and could not consistently be replicated in all follow-up experiments. The observed effects could be regained after accumulating the data across all experiments in order to increase statistical power. However, certain questions remain unanswered regarding a valid interpretation of the results in terms of predictive coding. Based on the current state of results, recommendations for future investigations are provided at the end of the current thesis in order to improve certain methodological aspects of investigating predictive coding in audition, including considerations on the design of experiments, possible suitable measures to investigate predictive coding in audition, recommendations for data acquisition and data analysis as well as recommendations for publication of results.

Predictive coding theorizes the capacity of neural structures to form predictions about forthcoming sensory events based on previous sensory input. This concept increasingly gains attention within experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. In auditory research, predictive coding has become a useful model that elegantly explains different aspects of auditory sensory processing and auditory perception. Many of these aspects are backed up by experimental evidence. However, certain fundamental features of predictive auditory processing have not been addressed so far by experimental investigations, like correlates of neural predictions that show up before the onset of an expected event. Four experiments were designed to investigate the proposed mechanism under more realistic conditions as compared to previous studies by manipulating different aspects of predictive (un)certainty, thereby examining the ecological validity of predictive processing in audition. Moreover, predictive certainty was manipulated gradually across five conditions from unpredictable to fully predictable in linearly increasing steps which drastically decreases the risk of discovering incidental findings. The results obtained from the conducted experiments partly confirm the results from previous studies by demonstrating effects of predictive certainty on ERPs in response to omissions of potentially predictable stimuli. Furthermore, results partly suggest that the auditory system actively engages in stimulus predictions in a literal sense as evidenced by gradual modulations of pre-stimulus ERPs associated with different degrees of predictive certainty. However, the current results remain inconsistent because the observed effects were relatively small and could not consistently be replicated in all follow-up experiments. The observed effects could be regained after accumulating the data across all experiments in order to increase statistical power. However, certain questions remain unanswered regarding a valid interpretation of the results in terms of predictive coding. Based on the current state of results, recommendations for future investigations are provided at the end of the current thesis in order to improve certain methodological aspects of investigating predictive coding in audition, including considerations on the design of experiments, possible suitable measures to investigate predictive coding in audition, recommendations for data acquisition and data analysis as well as recommendations for publication of results.:1. Introduction ... 5 1.1 An introduction to predictive coding theory ... 9 1.2 Predictive coding in audition ... 11 1.3 Electrophysiological correlates of predictive auditory processing ... 14 1.4 Limitations of previous research and aims of the thesis ... 21 2. Traditional correlates of auditory prediction ... 24 2.1 Experiment 1: Reliability of auditory predictions ... 25 2.2 Experiment 2: Accuracy of auditory predictions ... 39 3. Pre-stimulus correlates of auditory prediction ...47 3.1 Pre-stimulus effects in Experiment 1 and 2 ... 48 3.2 Experiment 3: Temporal dynamics of auditory prediction ... 56 3.3 Experiment 4: The influence of omissions on stimulus processing ... 64 4 Results across experiments ... 74 4.1 Methods ... 76 4.2 Results ... 80 4.3 Discussion ... 82 5. General Discussion ... 87 5.1 Implications for current research ... 89 5.2 Recommendations for future investigations ... 93 5.3 Future prospects ... 101 5.4 Conclusion ... 104 References ...106 Appendix ... 116

La trisomie 21 (T21), le Syndrome X Fragile (SXF), la Sclérose tubéreuse de Bourneville (STB) et les mutations SYNGAP1 sont causés par des dysfonctionnements des voies moléculaires qui entraînent notamment un déséquilibre dans l’excitation et l’inhibition de l’activité neuronale qui aurait des impacts sur le développement et le fonctionnement du cerveau. Toutefois, il est difficile de faire le pont entre les déséquilibres moléculaires observés dans les modèles animaux et les particularités structurelles, fonctionnelles et cognitives observées dans ces syndromes chez l’humain. À notre connaissance, peu d’études ont comparé différents syndromes génétiques sur les processus sensoriels, l’apprentissage de base ou encore leurs caractéristiques comportementales en utilisant des paradigmes similaires et translationnels, permettant de mieux comprendre leurs particularités. Le premier volet de cette thèse vise à identifier si l’activité électroencéphalographique serait un biomarqueur adéquat représentant les altérations neurobiologiques tant des processus sensoriels que d’apprentissage chez les humains présentant ces syndromes. L’étude #1 avait comme objectif de décrire le traitement sensoriel auditif, comme il s’agit d’un processus élémentaire, et ce, chez les mutations SYNGAP1 qui représentent une condition génétique encore peu étudiée chez l’humain. Les résultats ont d’ailleurs permis d’identifier une diminution de la synchronisation de phase et une augmentation de la puissance dans la bande gamma qui distinguent cette condition génétique tant des participants sans DI que de la T21. Toujours dans l’esprit d’identifier des biomarqueurs électroencéphalographiques, mais cette fois au niveau d’un processus cognitif de base, l’étude #2 avait pour objectif de comparer tous ces syndromes dans un paradigme de suppression neuronale (SN) afin de vérifier la présence de SN et de comparer l’apprentissage de base chez ces populations. Les résultats ont identifiés que la T21 et le SXF présentaient tous les deux un patron de SN et que le SXF présentait relativement une plus forte habituation indiquant des particularités spécifiques selon les syndromes. Le deuxième volet, davantage clinique, permet de comparer les profils comportementaux associés au fonctionnement adaptatif entre les syndromes et à décrire les pistes d’intervention existantes. L’étude #3 a notamment mis en évidence que le QI et les symptômes de TDAH sont associés au fonctionnement adaptatif auprès de ces différents syndromes dont le SXF et la STB. Cet article a aussi permis de décrire les profils comportementaux de ces mêmes conditions en révélant davantage de difficultés rapportées chez les individus présentant un SXF, alors que la T21 présentait moins de particularités cliniques au niveau comportemental. Enfin, l’article #4 a mis en lumière diverses interventions utilisées auprès de la population présentant une DI notamment des stratégies cognitivo-comportementales et compensatoires. Cette thèse permet donc de dresser un portrait spécifique de ces syndromes génétiques concernant leur signature électrophysiologique lors du traitement sensoriel et de l’apprentissage ainsi que sur le plan des comorbidités comportementales et de leur relation avec le fonctionnement adaptatif, pour ensuite aborder les interventions actuelles en DI. Les diverses particularités identifiées à plusieurs niveaux ont permis de générer des suggestions pouvant guider certaines interventions futures. / Down syndrome (DS), Fragile X syndrome (FXS), Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and SYNGAP1 mutations are caused by dysfunctions of the molecular pathways which lead among others to an imbalance in excitation and inhibition of the neuronal activity that would impact the brain development and its functioning. However, it is difficult to directly bridge the gap between the molecular imbalances observed in animal models with the structural, functional and cognitive characteristics observed in human with these syndromes. To our knowledge, few studies have compared those different genetic syndromes on sensory processing, basic learning or on their behavioural issues using similar and translational paradigms then allowing a better understanding of their specificities. The first part of this thesis aims to identify whether electroencephalographic activity would be an adequate biomarker representing neurobiological alterations both in sensory processing and learning in humans with these syndromes. The goal of study #1 was to describe auditory sensory processing, as a very first basic process, in SYNGAP1 mutations being a genetic condition still little studied in humans. Results showed a decrease in phase synchronization and an increase in the power of gamma band which distinguish this genetic condition both from participants without ID and from DS. Still in order to identify electroencephalographic biomarkers, but this time at a basic cognitive level, study #2 aimed to compare all these syndromes in a repetition suppression (RS) paradigm in order to observe the presence of RS and compare basic learning in these populations. The results identified a RS pattern in both DS and FXS. FXS also exhibited relatively higher habituation then indicating specific features according to the syndrome. The second part, addressing clinical aspects, permits to compare the behavioural profiles associated with adaptive functioning between syndromes and to describe existing interventions on ID population. Study #3 notably highlighted that IQ and ADHD symptoms are associated with adaptive functioning especially in FXS and TSC. This article also made it possible to describe the behavioural profiles of these syndromes, revealing more difficulties reported in individuals with FXS, while DS presented fewer behavioural issues. Finally, article #4 highlighted various interventions used with ID population, notably cognitive-behavioural and compensatory strategies. This thesis therefore makes it possible to gain a better understanding of these genetic syndromes concerning their electrophysiological signature during sensory processing and learning as well as in terms of behavioural comorbidities and their relationship with adaptive functioning, to then address current ID interventions. These different syndromic particularities identified at several levels made it possible to generate suggestions that could guide future interventions in this field.