title: [On the ontogenic character of the "Pierre Marie-Behague's test" and its utilization in the study of spatial orientation by patients with senile dementia (author's transl)].
abstract: This study is part of a series of researches conducted since some fifteen years in the geriatric department of the "Clinique Psychiatrique Universitaire de Genève". Its purpose is to investigate how and why old people are oriented/disoriented in space. In addition to the methods generally used in similar works, i.e. observation and questionnaires, the authors are preoccupied in understanding the mechanisms: in order to better define the concept of orientation, on the one hand, and to help the patients' adaptation, on the other hand. The results a) show that the Pierre Marie - Behague's Test of direction evince patterns of behaviour that correspond to developmental stages; b) permit the authors to give typical descriptions of patients with senile dementia. The analysis was qualitative rather than quantitative and similar to that used in genetic psychology. The results demonstrate that this approach is fruitful when adapted to geriatric research.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007698:Kinesis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009949:Orientation; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012399:Rotation; D013028:Space Perception
vernacular_title: Du caractère ontogénétique de l'épreuve de Pierre Marie-Behague et de son utilisation dans l'étude de l'orientation spatiale des démences de l'âge avancé.