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Revue de neuropsychologie

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Spatial navigation: what issues for neuropsychology? Volume 10, issue 2, Avril-Mai-Juin 2018

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Authors
1 Université de Lorraine,
Laboratoire InterPsy,
EA 4432,
Groupe de recherche sur les communications (GRC),
23, boulevard Albert 1er,
BP 60446
54015 Nancy,
France
2 Centre hospitalier régional universitaire de Nancy,
Centre Paul-Spillmann,
54000 Nancy,
France
3 Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal,
Centre de recherche,
Montréal,
Canada
4 Université de Montréal,
Faculté des arts et des sciences,
Département de psychologie,
Montréal,
Canada
5 CHRU de Nancy,
Centre mémoire de ressources et de recherche (CMRR),
Service de gériatrie,
54500 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy,
France
* Correspondance

The difficulty of orienting oneself and finding one's way within a new or familiar environment, in other words to “navigate”, has been described in normal aging and is also a common symptom for many neurological pathologies, whether they are progressive or not. However, navigation remains relatively little studied and evaluated in clinical practice, despite its importance for the autonomy of people. In recent decades, there has been a theoretical-clinical evolution from a “static” conception of spatial orientation to a “dynamic” conception of navigation. This conceptual evolution poses several challenges for cognitive psychology and neuropsychology, including the consideration of the characteristics of the environment in cognitive models, on the one hand, and the design of other assessment tools, on the other hand. Indeed, navigating is based on the integration of a plurality of information sources, both specific to the subject and the environment. Accompanying disoriented people is a public health issue, especially in our aging society. Knowledge derived from spatial cognition can provide answers, whether applied to the care or accompaniment of people (navigational aids, environmental management, etc.).

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