Des travaux récents ont montré que les relations entre le fonctionnement cognitif et sensori-moteur étaient de plus en fortes au cours du vieillissement, suggérant que des mécanismes communs seraient responsables du déclin avec l’âge des performances cognitives et sensori-motrices. Des variations quantitatives telles que la diminution avec l’âge de la vitesse de traitement ont été proposées comme cause commune pour expliquer le ralentissement cognitif et sensori-moteur. Toutefois, nous ignorons toujours comment ces variations quantitatives pourraient influencer les variations qualitatives au cours du vieillissement. L’objectif de cette thèse était de décrire les variations stratégiques liées à l’âge dans le domaine sensori-moteur d’une part, et de déterminer si les variations stratégiques observées dans le domaine cognitif pouvaient être communes aux variations stratégiques dans le domaine sensori-moteur, d’autre part. Nos données répliquent les principaux résultats observés dans les domaines cognitifs concernant les différences liées à l’âge dans les différentes variations stratégiques ainsi que les phénomènes associés à des variations telles que les effets de difficulté séquentielle, suggérant l’implication de ressources communes telles que les fonctions exécutives. Nos données montrent également une amplification de ces variations stratégiques au cours du vieillissement pathologique et suggèrent une amélioration de l’exécution stratégique après un entraînement. Les résultats présentés dans cette thèse permettent une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes cognitifs sous-jacents au comportement sensori-moteur des adultes jeunes et âgés durant la tâche de Fitts. / Recent studies have demonstrated that the relationship between cognitive and sensori-motor functioning is becoming stronger during aging, suggesting that common mechanisms could be responsible for age-related decline in cognitive and sensori-motor performance. Quantitative variations in aging, such as decreased information processing speed have been proposed as a common cause to explain cognitive and sensori-motor slowing. However, we do not know how these quantitative variations can influence the qualitative changes during aging. The main objective of this thesis was to describe age-related strategic changes in the sensori-motor domain and furthermore to determine whether these strategic changes in the sensori-motor domain share similar strategic variations with cognitive domain. To achieve this objective, a total of five studies were conducted where both young and older adults performed the Fitts' task. Our data replicated previous findings relative to those observed in the cognitive domain. On the one hand, age-related differences in strategy repertoire, strategy distribution and strategy execution were found. On the other hand, phenomenon associated with these variations, such as strategy sequential difficulty effects were also observed, suggesting involvement of common resources (i.e., executive functions). Additionally, we showed an amplification of these strategic variations in pathological aging and an improvement in strategic execution after training. These results provide a better understanding of the underlying cognitive mechanisms in young and older adults’ sensori-motor behavior during the Fitts’ task.

The primary objective of this research was the design of an easy to use C++ Graphical User Interface (GUI) which helps the user to choose the task that he/she wants to perform. This C++ application provides a platform intended for upper arm rehabilitation applications. The user can choose from different tasks such as: Assistive Function in 3D Space to Traverse a Linear Trajectory, User Controlled Velocity Based Scaling, Fitts' Task in X, Y, Z Directions. According to a study conducted by the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, stroke patients aided by robotic rehabilitation devices gain significant improvement in movement. They also indicate that both initial and long term recovery are greater for patients assisted by robots during rehabilitation. This research aims to provide a haptic interface C++ platform for clinicians and therapists to study human arm motion and also to provide assistance to the user. The user would get to choose andperform repetitive tasks aimed at improving his/her muscle memory. About eight healthy volunteers were chosen to perform a set of preliminary experiments on this haptic integrated C++ platform. These experiments were performed to get an indication of the effectiveness of the assistance functions provided in this C++ application. The eight volunteers performed the Fitts' Task in X, Y and Z directions. The subjects were divided into two groups, where one of the groups was given training without assistance and the other was given training with assistance. The execution time for both the groups was compared and analyzed. The experiments performed were preliminary, however some trends were observed: the people who received training with assistive force feedback took less execution time compared to those who were given training without any assistance. The path following error was also analyzed. These preliminary tests were performed to demonstrate the haptic platform's use as a therapeutic assessment application, a rehabilitation tool and a data collection system for clinicians and researchers.

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